


The benefits of not taking yourself so seriously

by TEARSoverBEERS



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: A little ridiculous, Found Family, Idiots in Love, Love Bugs, M/M, There's no cheating I swear but Cole is conflicted about his friends relationship, They are vigilantes rather than whatever is going on in canon, should a depressed person try to approximate how much it is normal to sleep? Probably not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 45,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24259543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TEARSoverBEERS/pseuds/TEARSoverBEERS
Summary: At first Cole startles, and he's just happy his reflexes don't kick in and punch Jay in the face.Jay doesn't even seem to notice Cole's distress. His face is relaxed, head leaning against one arm to get more comfortable. The fond smile shows as much in his eyes as in the quirk of his lips. Like he is looking at a kitten or a fluffy duckling. Not big, rough and sweaty unshaven Cole."Hey." He says, voice as soft as his gaze."Hey," Cole responds, his just-woke-up voice as croaky and throaty as a frog with a cold.And he'll blame that sleepiness when he doesn't immediately react to push him off when Jay leans in and kiss him.----------------------On a mission to a foreign island Jay is bitten by a "love bug" and now he's entirely sure he's in love with Cole for at least a couple of weeks. The whole situation would be a lot easier to deal with if Cole wasn't also already in love with him.
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker
Comments: 74
Kudos: 234





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this was actually written as a oneshot but it got too long and so I have tried to cut it into pieces. I'm afraid it might look a little clumsy and the first chapter is very short since it wasn't actually meant to be a chaptered fic but I hope you guys can be lenient with that 🙏 Hope you like it!

The first day in the story of "How Cole's life turned into one giant explosive shitfest" started out like any other. He woke up, washed off, did his routine morning work out and headed to breakfast for some well-deserved nutrition. In the dining-room he found Nya, Jay and Zane already having started their own meals and he gladly joined them. Kai and Lloyd arrive before too long and nothing so far gives any indication of today being anything but a normal, routine day. It's been a slow couple of weeks and the city thrived in their boredom.  
  


They're discussing a standard break-in that had been reported a couple of days prior, a sure sign of how deep they had truly sunk, when Sensei Wu suddenly shows up hugging an oversized scroll tightly to his chest.

"Ninjas! Time has come for you to find your destiny. Bla bla bla. You must find the  _ timeless dewdrop _ , hidden in the deepest parts of the jungle of Namons Island. Only the strongest, smartest and most handsome of ninjas can find it!"

(His recollection of this event might be slightly unreliable. To his defense, it was like, 8 a.m. on a weekend.)  
  


It leads to a group of him, Jay and Zane eagerly packing their stuff for a chance to go to this remote uninhabited island with almost entirely unique flora and fauna to find a flower which, according to the scroll, can be boiled into an extract that can be used to glimpse into the future. Lloyd, Nya and Kai (suckers) are to stay home just in case something happens that requires immediate attention.

All thing's well so far. They get going using a small sailing boat so as not to ruse any suspicion, which will be a lot slower than just using some of their more advanced techs. But it's not the first time they spend a lot of time at sea and there's not a lot of free time to waste onboard angsting about it.

All day he tries to steer the boat with only the wind (and Jay) to help, and as night approaches Zane keeps everything in check while Cole and Jay sleep in their makeshift bunk, lulled to sleep by long days with hard work under a relentless sun. Zane's ability to both go without enough sleep to make sure they're all fed during the day and then handle everything by himself at night is a godsend for saving time. (And if nothing else because two post-puberty guys is an uncomfortably tight fit in the small cabin they call "bedroom" as it is).

Cole never did feel completely comfortable at sea, lacking the feeling of the earth under his feet. Becoming the earth ninja did nothing but strengthen that sentiment. Normally he can feel the earth like it's an invisible part of his body. It's like a current, sort of magnetic pull that's with him at all times. Out here in the middle of the ocean the feeling is lost. He sometimes wonders if the others always feel this empty, rarely being in contact with their elements and all.

The trip there is none the less completely eventless and  _ almost _ as boring as it had been to be staying at home. It's almost suspiciously easy if you don't count their less than optimal living space and the fact that his skin starts to feel stretched thin from sunburn already by the second day. Cole starts to suspect early on the three of them were sent more because Wu wanted to split them up and get them out of the house, and less due to any dangerous nature of the mission.

Jay is either clueless or he just genuinely likes the sea. 

Finally seeing something other than dark water for the first time in almost two weeks is such a relief he lets out a victorious "whoop!" which Jay and Zane happily join in on.

The island looks like any other seen from the shore, hard gray stone beaches left with soft curves after thousands of years of the water pushing and pulling at what it could reach. From afar nothing about this island looked special apart from its remote location. Up close however the bushery peeking out from any splits in the rock ground is a bright autumn-orange, and the thick forest covering most of the land show signs of a similar tint. The sounds of native animals singing loudly can be heard already, little to no predators giving them no reason to hide or be careful about who may hear them.

Without a proper harbor it's a bit tricky to get ashore. Normally they'd need a smaller boat to get close enough without completely wrecking their ship against the underwater rocks. However, "normally" you don't have elemental ninja masters on board. Cole takes a deep breath and feels the pull of the dirt on his fingertips, finally close enough to have a pulse again.  _ God,  _ he's missed it.

Then he pulls back at the energy and the water gives way to a brand new stone pier, starfish and corals confusedly holding on to the sides or dropping into the water when they realize they've breached. It's the perfect height for Cole to just skip over the railing and walk ashore. Which he does, cockily, ignoring the way the muscles in his arms ache from the big move. The way their elemental powers work is sort of strange and mysterious.

The sun is low in the sky, but they are all full of pent up energy and excitement from weeks without action so they decide to split up and try to cover as much ground as possible before it gets too dark to see. They will rendezvous back at the ship after two hours to go over their results. Since it's already late afternoon by the time they arrived they will make camp until tomorrow regardless if they find what they came for or not tonight. The quicker they find it, the quicker they can get home and take a really long shower though.

"Be careful out there. Reports mention the creatures of this island being aggressively territorial." Zane warns, putting on a pair of thick gloves and zipping up a leather jacket that would look cool if it wasn't so clearly used as a protective suit.

Cole snorts, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of knee-length shorts with no intention of changing. The night is hot and the high humidity makes their clothes stick to their skin.

"I think we'll be fine. I doubt they've ever fought anyone with ninja-sharp reflexes before!" He responds filled with well-earned confidence, flexing his arms jokingly to get his point across.

Zane just shrugs and continues to put on a suit that should be way too hot for someone to even think of putting on in tropical climate. Jay chuckles in agreement though and makes a similar gesture to his, and it makes him feel a little lighter.

Zane goes north, Jay goes south, and Cole heads into the jungle straight ahead. He is feeling confident. He is back with dirt under his feet and with renewed energy at the prospect of reaching their goal. Finding the flower will be a piece of cake.

* * *

Approximately an hour and a half later have Cole limping angrily back towards the beach with no flowers and an angry, overgrown squirrel having taken a good bite out of his leg. (Thanks to Zane foreseeing exactly this and packing a first aid kit his leg will be fine. His pride? Not so much.)

Jay comes walking down the beach mere minutes after he's done cleaning out the wound. Every step has his shoes sinking into the sand. There is a layer of sweat on his face and his expression is one of deep frustration, but there are no flowers in sight. Cole calls out to him as he approaches.

"No luck?"

"All I found was a swarm of very angry mosquitoes." Jay groans, pointing to a bright red bump on his forehead that wasn't there before. It's vaguely heart-shaped.

"Yeah, I got nothing either." Cole agrees, avoiding to mention getting his ass handed to him by a squirrel.

Jay just grimaces and sighs, throwing himself down next to Cole on the beached log they had figured would make a good waiting spot. He wobbles slightly, and Cole steadies him by grabbing his arm.

"Hey man, are you okay? We weren't out there for that long."

"Y-yeah, I just feel a little feverish I think. I probably just need some water."

"What? You might have an allergic reaction to that bite dude! We have to get you properly checked out!"

Cole puts his hand against Jay's forehead, covering the bitemark with his palm to feel the temperature. His heart plummets. Fuck.

"Shit man, you're burning up! Why didn't you say?"

Cole lowers his now shaky hand, looking back into Jay's eyes just to see his irises glow in pink before the color fades away so quickly Cole wonder if he just imagined it. He looks a little breathless as he stares back and Cole's heart rate is picking up now out of fear. He doesn't know shit about medical stuff. Anything he does might as well get Jay killed!

Jay hasn't responded yet, instead of opening and closing his mouth over and over like he's trying to find the right words. Then his tongue darts out and he wets his lips slowly. Cole's traitorous, badly timed heart stumbles over itself as he subconsciously follows the action with his eyes. Instead of acknowledging Cole's obvious stare Jay's face settles into an easy smile.

"Did I ever tell you that you have a beautiful laugh?"

His heart pause. His mind blanks.

Okay. So he didn't expect  _ that _ .

Perfectly timed, Zane calls out for them right at that moment and Cole turns to see the robot using his shirt as a makeshift basket to carry an armload of flowers. Bless Zane.

Cole gratefully takes the offered distraction and pretends he can't feel Jay's stare at the back of his neck as he runs up to help Zane with the flowers and allow them to switch places. Things just got too strange for him to deal with.

Zane does a full scan of Jay's vitals but apart from a slightly higher than usual pulse nothing seems to be off. His fever seems to have gone down suddenly. Cole  _ swears _ he didn't imagine it though, even if the other two just shrug at him and doesn't seem fazed with Jay's rapidly changing temperatures. It makes Cole feel a bit dismissed, so he goes back to the ship's bedroom (well, only room) to sulk about it for the rest of the night. He didn't hallucinate it. Either the island was playing with his head or Jay was fucking with him, and either way he didn't like it. It made him feel like a fool and a coward when he's the only one to think something's wrong.

The get-away at least gave him opportunity to discreetly cool down from the roller coaster of feelings he had been subjected to the last couple of hours.

See, Cole never bothered much with labels. He knew that for some they were important, building a sense of self and belonging. Maybe it came from growing up so close to show business and meeting all kinds of non-conforming people at a young age, but not everyone was as laid back as him about this subject. Even his friends, though they mean well, slip up every now and then. But he never felt the need to make a big deal out of it - he liked who he liked, and that was that. (Or at least it had been, until lately.)

Throughout his life, it hadn't been that many people. Most had just been childish crushes - the ones that made his hands sweaty and butterflies to nest in his stomach, but nonetheless let him move on without any heartache - but even so, it's been a long time now since he had the time to focus on something other than saving the world or another.

So the thing is, he couldn't tell you how long these feelings have existed even if he wanted to. He could tell you that suddenly one day as they're just sitting down to eat his knuckles run along the back of Jay's hand accidentally, and he loses his breath for a second.

And he could tell you one day Jay looked back at him from across the gym (he hadn't even realized he'd been watching him to start with) and smiles, and Cole's heart seemed to trip over itself.

Then about how Jay hugs him after one of their simpler missions, and suddenly his skin burns where they made contact and it's all he can think about as he tries to go to sleep.

So when he finally realizes what's going on isn't just some strange effect of stress and one too many all-nighters, it hits him like a punch in the dick.

And he had no plan on telling Jay about these feelings. Ever. To be fair, not because he thinks Jay would mind or anything, it's just that it was sure to make things... Awkward. No matter how you looked at it, it was sure to change their relationship and Cole really really didn't want that. He cherished their friendship and how close they'd gotten. And he knew Jay didn't feel the same so why risk it?

It's just that, knowing what is the most rational decision is one thing and getting his heart to agree to let it go is another entirely. Which is why he now hides in bed instead of joining his friends for dinner.

That, and his weird experience earlier had made him hesitant to stay on the island more than necessary. What had seemed like an adventure at first sight had quickly become frightening when things started going wrong. He's not a scaredy-cat. He just needs a moment to breathe before going back to the beach.  _ For a moment out there he could have sworn he saw- _

Then Jay slides into the room, indiscreet in his heavy boots. Cole immediately closes his eyes and tries to even out his breathing in an attempt to appear asleep. He can hear Jay rustling around behind him and Cole assumes he is going to sleep when Jay suddenly decides after more than a week at sea and in sweaty, tropical humidity and heat that cuddling is now the optimal arrangement for sleeping.

They've always slept close together as a group on missions like these, even Nya - it helped to keep heat in normally. The size of the room itself doesn't leave them with much of a choice. This night however Jay takes it to a whole new level when he not only push their futons together but then gets right up in Cole's space to the point where they're more or less sharing a pillow. Cole, who can feel every one of Jay's breaths against his neck, isn't sure what to say about this sudden development.

And the actual absurdity of the situation aside, it makes it really hard to pretend to be asleep. Because his feelings are all in his face now. Literally and figuratively.

So naturally, he says nothing. He just waits until Jay's breathing evens out and he starts quietly snoring. Then he finally turns around, looking at Jay's relaxed face - too close and too dark to really make out his features, but his warm breaths are touching his skin in an even rhythm. The tempo feels a little bit like a lullaby. It's been a long day. Having Jay so close feels a little too hot and kinda weird, but not necessarily bad. The sleep finally takes over.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning sun bathes the room in warm yellow when he wakes up. Despite the lack of proper windows the light manages to get inside well enough to heat it up. In no more than an hour the room will probably be too hot to stay in, but at the moment it's still manageable.

Cole can't say he ever put any thought into what he looks like when he's asleep. It seemed like a dumb thing to care about - even if he looked like the world's biggest idiot, it's not like he could change it!

Waking up to someone's obvious stare at your sleeping face though could make one reconsider. At first Cole startles, and he's just happy his reflexes don't kick in and punch Jay in the face.

Jay doesn't even seem to notice Cole's distress. His face is relaxed, head leaning against one arm to get more comfortable. The fond smile shows as much in his eyes as in the quirk of his lips. Like he is looking at a kitten or a fluffy duckling. Not big, rough and sweaty unshaven Cole.

"Hey." He says, voice as soft as his gaze.

"Hey," Cole responds, his just-woke-up voice as croaky and throaty as a frog with a cold.

And he'll blame that sleepiness when he doesn't immediately react to push him off when Jay leans in and kiss him.

* * *

"Oh. I believe I've realized now what's happening with Jay." Zane nods to himself. He seems only mildly interested in their conversation, and more so in his breakfast.

"What is it? Please tell me it can be cured!"

Cole on his hand is _f r e a k i n g_ o u t .

Somehow, for whatever reason, Jay is now certain (and have no troubles expressing as much) that Cole is the love of his life. As if last night had not been weird enough, the night only seems to have strengthened whatever it was that was wrong with him.

After the initial surprise Zane has seemed completely unfazed at the order of events. He is calmly sipping his breakfast-tea, slowly to properly enjoy the flavor. Cole had just barely managed to get away from Jay, who had clearly gone insane, by telling him he'd love to have something pretty to keep as a memory of the island. Jay had immediately run off to the beach to find a seashell.

"There's no need to worry. I believe Jay was simply stung by an Eromabee, one of Namon Island's native species. That explains why you could testify that he got sick, but then got better as soon as he imprinted on someone. It should also wear off naturally in a couple of weeks."

Cole relaxes for a moment hearing Jay's odd behavior will pass. Then the words catch up with him and he goes back to his freak out.

"Wait, a couple of _weeks_ ? I can't deal for that long! Oh no, Nya will kill him if we get back and he's still like this. Then she'll kill _me_ for being such a hot piece! Please tell me you're joking!"

"Of course I'm not."

Cole whines and slides down onto the floor, feeling sorry for himself while also stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth (multitasking).

Zane puts down his tea, eyebrows furrowing as he looks over at Cole.

"Didn't you read the instructions we were given before the mission? There were several pages dedicated to the possible dangers of the fauna of Namon. We were told it was very important we read and memorized it in case of something unexpected happening."

"Uuh..." Cole blinks slowly.

Then freeze.

Then straightens up, holding his hand to his ear like he's trying to hear better and starts to move towards the door. “What's that Jay? You need me to come outside? Well, if it's important.”

Zane does make a sound of indignation, but Cole is already out of the room before he manages to protest.

* * *

Jay comes back with his entire pockets filled. He convinces Cole to pick out the prettiest of the shells he's found instead of just giving him one. Putting them in a line, he goes over the specific strengths and weaknesses of each one before letting him choose. At least four he had picked because "they had reminded him of Cole's eyes". Cole tried very hard to keep his blush at bay at that, reminding himself that it just meant they were black. It was a regular, monochrome color. Not like Jay's eyes which held the colors of the sky. (So what if he ends up picking a blue-tinted shell? It's not like he's gonna tell Jay what made him pick it.)

Jay, satisfied, leans in to kiss him again and this time Cole is awake and prepared enough to get his hand in between their faces. It doesn't stop all the blood in his body rushing towards his cheeks though. God, he's gonna have a heart attack at this rate. There won't be any blood left for his heart to pump.

"O-kay bro, I know you think you love me right now. Nothing wrong with getting curious about some guy on guy action. Who doesn't, right?” He immediately winces at his own words. Cole is the most awkward person on the planet. Looking up Awkward in a dictionary you'll find a picture of him. It's a fatal condition. “But those feelings are messing with you right now. You got bitten by some bug that is playing tricks on you, okay?"

Jay just rolls his eyes, mouth still covered by Cole's hand. He takes a theatrical step back and Cole feels both relieved and disappointed.

"Okay, sure. One would think I'd be a better judge of my own feelings, but who am I to say no to the Mighty Earth Ninja." He brushes some fake dust from his shirt.

"I- What?” Cole's brows furrow. He wasn't prepared for sarcastic Jay to come out right now. It's a blast of normalcy and he almost falls for it. “Okay, no, I see you're trying to make me lower my guard but it's not gonna work bro."

"No? If it doesn't even matter, you wouldn't mind getting something to eat together right?"

"Huh?"

"Cause I have these brownies I sneaked on board while we were leaving and I would prefer some company while eating them."

Cole's heart skips a beat. Brownies. Oh no. His weakness.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I mean." Jay smile is downright wicked. He knows exactly what he's doing. Cole knows too. But... Cole is so, so weak. "I mean. If you insist."

“That I do.” Jay, still smiling, grabs his hand and pulls him along.

(Cole might be in hell. Hell is Jay flirtingly picking a piece of dried-out chocolate cake off his cheek and eating it in the grossest, least sexy attempt at seduction ever. Cole falls head over heels for it.)

* * *

Thankfully, Jay does manage to keep his hands to himself as they pack up and readies the boat to go home. He even seems oddly distracted, like there's something on his mind. There's no time to talk about it though. There's a good amount of wind today, and they might save time if they get going before noon. 

It doesn't stop Jay from winking at Cole anytime they make eye contact. And as Cole (and his new record in how-many-times-can-you-blush-in-a-day) finds out, they do that a lot more often than he had ever been aware of before.

Zane just seems faintly amused and/or unaware of Cole's torment. He has packed the flowers in the pre-prepared sealed boxes and is keeping them frozen through his own powers. (It saves the nutrients or something, apparently. Cole didn't really see the point considering they're not going to eat them for their nutritiousness, but whatever.)

As sad as he is to leave land behind for more days stuck at sea already, Cole is happy to go home. Namon Island wasn't exactly the action-filled vacation spot he'd hoped. The whole place didn't feel _right_. It gave him goosebumps to even think back on now.

While they might have had to put their faith in the weather gods on the way there, the way back is different. Time is of the essence to get the flowers back and properly dried and there is no one around to be suspicious if they bring out some flashier-than-normal tech. Jay and Zane spend two hours installing a new engine (if Jay's invention can even be called that) to the boat, buffing up their speed to at least twice, maybe even three times the normal. They could only store enough fuel for about halfway so using it at the right time was important. It felt infuriating on their way there but so worth it when they set sail now and the combined wind and grease-power pushes them forward as if they were a cannonball. Jay gives out a loud whoop of success and Cole can't help but join in.

"Good job guys!" he attempts to scream over the sound of the wind in their ears. It's unclear if his actual words reach them, but Zane gives him a thumbs up from where he's standing by the wheel. Jay turns to him with a grin so large it's basically splitting his face in two. He looks proud, eyes bright and happy. His crooked canine-tooth juts out a little, digging into his lip, and while he'd usually be self-conscious about that it seems like nothing could be further from his mind at the moment. Cole kinda wishes he had brought a camera along so he could have saved the image forever.

Before they get too far away Cole lowers the stand-in harbor back into the water, making sure they leave no lasting physical evidence of their presence in the unique environment. It goes easily, immediately making their entire day seem like a faraway dream as it gets further and further away until it's just a dot on the horizon.

The day still keeps them busy. Jay soon takes over the steering and navigating, while Cole manages the sails. Zane goes into the hut to rest and/or whatever it is he does in his free time. If he's gonna be up all night by himself he deserves some time off. In all honesty, it's easy for Cole to forget about the predicament they're in up until the sun is starting to set and Zane comes back on the deck to switch them off.

As soon as they're in the bunk Jay presses himself as close to Cole as he possibly can again. The small space they've shared the entire trip suddenly feels positively cramped.

“Uh. Hi?”

“Hi.”

Jay's smile is soft, looking up at him from where he snuggled up against Cole's chest. Cole isn't sure how he should act. On one hand, Jay seems normal if not weirdly touchy-feely. On the other hand, he doesn't want to accidentally take advantage of the bug bite making Jay more suggestible to do whatever Cole wants. If he put his arm around him now to make them both more comfortable, would that be considered encouraging the false feelings?

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Great now that you're here with me.”

“Oh- that's- okay. Uh. Thanks.”

Cole winces at himself. _Thanks_. He really hopes Jay won't remember any of this, for both of their sakes.

He slowly, to carefully look for any sign he shouldn't, stretch out his arm and let it fall onto Jay's back. He's pretty sure he's sweating way too much. He waits for a reaction.

Jay doesn't so much as blink. He tries holding on a bit firmer. Still nothing.

When Jay does speak up he startles and almost tugs his arm back, if not for the fact that Jay catches his hand and spins around so they are effectively spooning.

"I saw something earlier on the beach while I was getting you a seashell. It was… Strange."

Cole can't help the way he audibly sucks in a breath. He _knew_ the island was creepy. Finally someone brought it up.

"What did you see?" He tries not to sound too eager. He isn't sure if it works or not because what little he can see of Jay's expression is uncharacteristically blank, the way it only ever is on purpose.

"I saw you."

Wait, what? Cole frowns. That's not possible. He had specifically asked Jay to go to the beach so he could talk to Zane alone. At no point had he gone after him.

"I was on the sh-"

"I know!" Jay doesn't even let him finish. He seems genuinely frustrated at his own memory. "And that wasn't even the weirdest thing, because it didn't look like you _today_ , it was you but dressed like yesterday. And you had a bleeding wound on your thigh, like something had bitten you."

Cole's heart starts to hammer in his chest. What the hell. How could Jay possibly know about that? Had he been lying in wait yesterday and seen him come back and was now making fun of Cole for getting bitten by a squirrel? 

"But then I called out for you and you just… Disappeared."

Cole's heart lodge in his throat. Jay shudders. Cole suspects he'd do the same if his body didn't also feel completely frozen. Jay mutters; "God, I'm glad we've left that island behind."

"Yeah," Cole responds quietly. Heart still pounding. "Me too."

The scene reaches its anticlimax when Jay closes his eyes, lets out a content sigh and seemingly fall asleep right then and there.

Cole can't quite shake the picture of not-himself back on the island though.

* * *

He wakes up again the next morning to the sandpapery feel of Jay's five o'clock shadow as he is sleepily kissing his neck. The sneaky touches continue throughout the day. He doesn't try to kiss him on the mouth anymore after he was stopped the one time, but he still makes sure to leave soft kisses where else he can reach.

Cole tries to tell him off several times, but Jay just gives him this sheepy _sorry-not-sorry_ smile and it's enough to make him sigh and give in.

He's trying to act mature about it and not let Jay provoke him into believing his charade, nor lead Jay on. But Cole feels so emotionally overwhelmed lately he can't even tell apart what he is feeling from what he thinks he _should_ be feeling.

He's tried to move his futon across the small room they have as well as straight-up asking Jay to give him space. It only works for a little while though as he wakes up every single time with Jay plastered against his back again. He wouldn't be surprised if he found out something in the bug's venom made you crave physical contact, since it didn't appear to matter whether Jay was awake or not to cling to Cole. In the daze of mornings it's so easy to give in to the fantasy and believe in the words whispered against his skin too.

The thing that keeps his head clear is the thought of Jay waking up one day and looking at Cole like he's betrayed him. He wouldn't be able to live with himself. It's also an undeniable fact that Jay has a girlfriend back home that will likely be less than thrilled to find out her boyfriend has been macking on someone else while away, and he really should do his best to minimize the damage. Cole doesn't want to either hurt Nya (because she's a close friend and she doesn't deserve it) nor _be hurt by_ Nya because she finds out he's been trying to steal her boyfriend.

This trip has turned into such unnecessary drama when all he ever wanted was to kick some bad-guy ass and then kick back and relax in the sun. Instead it feels like he stepped through a portal into a Shakespearean play and unwillingly became the star. _Also_ he had a sunburn.

* * *

It's early morning when they reach the Ninjago City port. Cole and Jay have been awake for a couple of hours already picking apart and putting away the run-dry engine before they ran into someone else. It's eerily silent as they approach land, only the waves making any sound as they die against the harbor's concrete walls. A few people are awake and about, probably fishermen or other harbor workers, but they're all too engrossed in their own routines to take notice of their small vessel sliding past. The seabirds are still asleep and only the promise of an easily caught breakfast could wake them.

When they get closer to their docking point they can swiftly make out the silhouettes of two people waiting for them on the pier. Kai stretches and waves at them as soon as he sees the boat approach while Nya stays cooly leaned against a pole.

As soon as Cole jumps off the boat Kai slaps him on the back, his laugh loud and annoying as he makes fun of all of their scrubby facial hair and unwashed state. Nya just rolls her eyes at her brother and quietly helps them tie up the boat and unload the cargo, never a morning person but ever a good friend. With Kai's relentless teasing and Jay's less than stellar comebacks, things feel so normal that for a second he forgets about the whole love bug thing. All up until Jay slides up next to him in lieu of taking the box he's holding and quickly kisses the side of his mouth, and Nya promptly drops the empty fuel dunk she was carrying. She hastily apologizes and picks it back up, but her eyes are still wide in shock staring at them. Her brother takes a second longer to compute what just happened, but when he does he wastes no time making his opinion heard.

“ What the fuck!?”

Nya looks conflicted, but she takes a quick look around and turns her attention to Kai.

“ Quiet down. You're attracting attention.”

It doesn't stop her from needing to physically hold Kai back, as he looks ready to kill whichever one of them he gets his hand on first.

“ Did you see what he just did!?”

"I can explain-" Cole starts, but is interrupted.

“ Like hell there's anything to explain!” Threatening sparks are shooting from his hands, clearly visible in the darkness.

“ Kai!” Nya cuts him off sharply.

Jay is just looking confused at their reactions, not grasping the danger he is currently in of being turned into spontaneous barbeque. Cole wishes the world would just open up and swallow him whole, anything to get out of this situation. In fact, he very much could have done that, if he had just managed to get off the wooden pier before this happened. If he had just been a little quicker he'd be way down under by now and not have to deal with any of this. It's entirely in the realm of his abilities.

Nya's eyes catch him and her look is cold, calculating. The way she looks when she is trying to press down all emotion and see things from a neutral standpoint. It makes a shiver run down Cole's back.

"It can wait until we're back." She decides, finally breaking her eye contact and giving Kai one last push back before turning around and moving towards the car. Kai mutters angrily and keeps shooting them glares but he follows her example by roughly grabbing some stuff and walking off, the contents of the bags slamming loudly against each other as he turns.

Cole finally lets out the breath he had not realized he'd been holding.

“ I think that's all. Nothing left on the boat that wasn't there when we got here.” Zane chooses this second to make his reappearance, carrying a stuffed backpack and two large bags over his shoulders. “Oh, Kai and Nya left?”

“ They got really pissed for some reason.” Jay responds, helping him off the boat and taking one of the bags.

"They were angry?" Zane looks surprised, turning to Cole for an explanation. He sighs and resists the urge to facepalm right then and there.

“ Jay kissed me in front of them.”

“ Oh. Oh no. That's not good.”

Jay just looks insulted. It seems like the idea didn't even occur to him that they would mind or that he had done something wrong.

“ They're mad about that? Why shouldn't I!”

"Because Nya is your girlfriend, asshole!" It actually comes out with more venom than Cole realized he was feeling until then, and Jay looks like he had been slapped. He blinks several times, like this is new information to him.

“ But... I love  _ you _ .”

Cole just let out a frustrated sound, turning to plead with Zane.

“Could you tell them what's up? I think Kai will punch me in the face if I so much as open my mouth right now.” Zane nods his head with some hesitation.

“ Of course. I'll go ahead.”

"What an overreaction," Jay whines, grabbing Cole's hand. Cole angrily tugs it back, but at the hurt look Jay sends him in response he sighs and gives in, holding it back out for Jay to grab. It's not his fault, he supposes. It's the damn bug scrambling his brain. Jay would never cheat on Nya, nor do anything to hurt her. He's been obsessed with her for years. Cole has been… Very aware of this.

They start walking slowly, giving Zane time to get further ahead and explain the situation to the siblings. It's not a huge lot and finding where the car is parked shouldn't be an issue this early in the morning, even without directions.

“ I liked being on the sea with you. I think I will like being at home too, but at the sea I could have you all to myself. Not counting Zane. Does that make me selfish? I don't mind. I like it when you look at only me.” Jay rambles. "What do you think?"

Cole hesitates, not sure how to respond without being too encouraging. He decides to go for the safe route;

"It's better having the earth under my feet again."

"Isn't it? I didn't even notice until we were back on land, but whoa the water moves so much! It felt like stepping off a carousel. I'm all dizzy!" Jay, who doesn't seem discouraged, makes some odd movements with his arms that are meant to somehow simulate how he feels. What they actually end up doing is almost punching Cole in the face. It's so  _ Jay _ that Cole can't help the smile that tugs on his lips. Jeez. This dork.

“ There's the smile I love.” Jay looks pleased, and Cole realizes he failed once again, his cheeks warming up. Jay's eyes wrinkle so adorably when he's pleased with himself though. It makes Cole's heart a little lighter too.

They reach the car and load their stuff into the trunk before even daring to greet the people already inside.

The car is dead silent when they open the door. Jay slides in to sit in the middle with no concern for his life or wellbeing while Cole awkwardly squeezes in after him. Normally he'd make a quip at Nya to get a bigger car, and she'd immediately defend her tiny piece of scrap to the grave with clearly made-up reasons. This time though the silence feels so tense you could cut it. Kai is still glaring at them from the passenger seat. Nya's face in the driver's seat is hidden from view and he suspects it's just as well.

He clears his throat. Looks to Jay for help, which he will clearly not get. Okay. So it’s up to him to diffuse the tension. He opens his mouth and closes it again. His heart is laying down some sick beats in his throat making it hard to get the words out.

“Uhm.” He can feel the cold sweat start to collect on his brow as he has no idea what he could say to save Jay’s ass right now. He’s completely drawing a blank. Fuck.

Then suddenly Kai's serious expression is breaking, and Nya makes a noise like she's choking, and out of nowhere they both erupt in laughter. Jay grabs onto his arm in alarm, and Cole can't fault him since he had subconsciously reached out to cover Jay too.

“ I can't believe you got stung by a freaking  _ love bug _ !” Kai is laughing so hard he's crying, all mouth and teeth. He's slapping his knees. Nya accidentally hit her head against the steering wheel while trying to catch her breath. Her cheeks are red from the lack of air.

"Shut up!" Jay is apparently feeling that embarrassment now, for some reason. His ears are bright pink and his face is filling in quickly. Cole supposes he looks the same if not worse already. This bug bite-thing really didn't merge well with his complexion.

“ Oh come on. Don't call it that.” 

“ Are you feeling embarrassed, Cole-Bear?”

“ He never even called me that!”

“ Yeah! I only call him Cole-pudding!”

They laugh even louder.

“ I don't even know if I'm getting the best blackmail on Jay or Cole right now.” Kai wheezes.  
  


"Just drive home already so I can start my plan to lock myself inside my room and die in peace, please." Cole whines, throwing his head back against the seat in defeat.

"We would not let you die even if you locked your door, Cole. We would save you." Zane adds from the side, completely missing the point but with a sweet sentiment.

"Yeah!" Kai agrees. "No one is getting a peaceful death on my watch!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	3. Chapter 3

From the time they get home and split up so they can all wash off and get some rest until the time that the entire house apparently knows of their predicament is approximately forty-two minutes.

Out of those forty-two minutes Lloyd had been asleep for the first forty-one and a half. Cole is just putting on a clean set of clothes after a long, well-deserved shower when he's startled by the high pitched,  _ delighted _ scream. The scream of a boy who had just heard the most blackmail-worthy story about his close friend slash brother by choice and would waste no time in using this for his own sadistic amusement. The excited yelling continues, spoiling the fact that its origin is moving closer and closer to Cole's own position. Also that they got some impressive lung capacity.

A mere minute later his bedroom door is kicked open and Lloyd throws himself inside with Kai right behind him. Cole yells in indignance like he didn't just hear them run through the entirety of the house to reach him. He throws his pillow at them, which Lloyd, unfortunately, catches easily.

"What if I had been naked!" he screeches in totally manly and not at all high pitched manner.

He's ignored.

  
  


The worst thing about it all is that now that they’re back home everything feels so damn  _ normal _ . Jay isn't following Cole around like a puppy or staring at him longingly from every corner anymore. In fact, Jay leaves for his own room as soon as they get back without being prompted. It'd be really easy to just forget the whole thing happened. That is if Cole, with Lloyd and Kai hanging off his neck taunting and laughing all the way, had been able to stop  _ himself _ from going looking for the other.

Jay is looking newly showered and clean-shaven, sitting shirtless on his bed completely engrossed in a video game. He barely looks up from the screen at their arrival. Cole pretends he does not do a double-take as he shamelessly offers Jay up to his assaulters as a new victim. With a phone in Kai's hand clearly recording everything they let go of him to instead creep up on Jay.

“ Heey Jay, I heard you got a boyfriend.” Kai starts, snickering into the camera. Jay doesn't bat an eyelash in response.   
“ Yeah, it’s your mom.”   
“ Hey!”

Lloyd pushes Kai out of the shot to get in his own ribbing.

“ So tell us about this guy that got you head over heels - would you say he's attractive? 'Hot' maybe even? Simply  _ dashing _ ?”

Jay turns to face Lloyd with a dead-serious expression. For a moment Cole almost thinks he's about to slap him or something. Then Jay speaks.

“ He is probably the sexiest person on the planet. He could crush me under his heel, and I'd thank him.” Lloyd tries very obviously to choke down his reaction, which sounds more or less exactly what a screech would sound like if you forced your mouth closed. Cole forgets to keep his own down and immediately chokes, starting to cough violently while the others laugh.

“ Well, he's not wrong about the sexy part.” Cole tries to joke it off, attempting to distract from the situation at hand. It does not work. Possibly he is not that convincing 2 minutes after choking on his own spit.

“ Oh yeah? What's so sexy about him then?” Kai asks, staring Cole straight in the eyes and fluttering his lashes. He is  _ so _ trying to get a rise out of him. Cole wishes he could wipe that shit-eating grin off his face. Preferably with something hard. Like the floor.

Is it considered bad etiquette to throw hands in someone else's bedroom?

"His hands. His mouth. His laugh. His hair. His arms." Jay seems completely oblivious to Cole's torment. Then he turns to look right into the camera and says with a completely straight face. "His ass."

“ He-ey!”

Cole's composure (or what was left of it) breaks on the spot – he subconsciously moves his hands to shield his behind, as if it'd make a difference. His face is burning up. He's not the only one that loses it though, as Lloyd and Kai are back on the floor laughing their asses off. Jay keeps playing his game like nothing, but a mischievous twinkle in his eye gives him away. Asshole.

“ This video is gold. He's gonna be so pissed when he goes back to normal.” Kai wipes tears out of his eyes.

“ I'm so glad you and Jay went on this trip, Cole.” Lloyd adds, equal parts relieved and taunting.

Cole is feeling a strong case of the Cain-instinct right about now. His muscles are tense with the effort it takes to not kick someone's ass.

Jay turns and makes full-on eye contact with him for the first time since they barged into his room. His eyebrows furrow slightly, a small crease in between them as the smirk leave his lips and he seemingly contemplates something. Then he stands up, marching over.

“ Oh, I could tell you both more than that.”

He throws his arms over Cole's shoulders and before Cole can protest he leans in close enough that he can whisper for only Cole to hear;

"Trust me."

Lloyd and Kai start to look a little uncomfortable at the display. It's hitting them both that Jay is, in fact, still shirtless.

Jay takes one of Cole's hands in his own and leads it to his chest. Surprisingly well-toned, muscular but lean. His heartbeat is quick but steady. 

"We just had so much fun on our trip, it's sad that you guys won't be able to experience it. Why don't you join us and we can show you? I am  _ very _ flexible."   
  


It’s a good thing Cole has had some time to prepare because otherwise, he would not have managed to keep his face so straight. Kai makes a sound like he’s gagging before he rises to his feet and put his phone away.   
“ Ew, now it's just getting weird. I'm gonna go get lunch.” Lloyd, red-faced, agrees and scurries after quickly.

As soon as they're gone Jay lets go and back up. He doesn't let go of Cole's hand though.

“ Sorry. Just wanted to get rid of them. They seemed to bother you.”

" _ Mhmm _ ." Is the most Cole can manage to get out with his lips screwed shut.

He tries to relax his frantically beating heart. He's seen Jay shirtless before. They hang out this close all the time. Sometimes they're BOTH shirtless. Nothing is really different now, no reason to freak out. This Jay just happens to like him back. No big deal.

Jay starts playing with his fingers.

“ You tired? You can lie down if you want.”

“Here? Wouldn't I get in your way?”

“ I was just playing a video game. I can turn it off if you want to sleep.”

“ You don't have to.” Cole assures. He's tired from pulling more or less an all-nighter, sure, but Jay should be just as tired. 

“I want to. I was only playing because I couldn't sleep without you anyway. Guess I got kinda used to it.” Jay shrugs. "I'd appreciate it if you stayed." 

Oh. It makes sense, he supposes. It'd be bad if Jay didn't get any sleep, right? Cole wouldn't want to be the reason for that if they went on a mission only for Jay to get hurt because he's tired. That would be bad.

Cole lies down hesitantly, facing the wall. Jay immediately fits himself into the slot against his back, his arm finding its place against Cole's chest as if by muscle memory. Now that they're objectively fresher and not caked with weeks worth of grime and sweat it feels really nice to be close like this. He feels warm, secure. The heat isn't sticky, just comfortable. Like sitting down in front of a toasty fireplace after being too long in the cold, or a warm bath on a chilly day.

Sleep comes quickly after that.  
  


* * *

Cole staggers into the kitchen hours later.   
  
He had woken up only because his stomach was loudly declaring it was empty. Jay was still asleep next to him. He looked so peaceful back here, home in his own bed. He looked younger. Like he hadn't had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders since his teens. Maybe they all did.

Cole does his best to not disturb him as he slides out of the bed and tiptoes out of the room towards the kitchen.

He's too tired to (attempt to) cook, so he just rummages around the cupboard until he finds a package of noodles. While he's waiting for the water to heat up he hears someone clear their throat behind him.

He spins around to find Nya standing in the doorway. She's looking just as tired as he feels. A quick glance at the clock above the oven reveals it to be late afternoon. A strange time for her to appear so exhausted.

"Hi." 

"Hey" he responds as she makes her way over to the sink to grab a glass of water. It's still a little awkward between them. He wants to apologize, but he's not sure how or even what for. Technically this is all the bug's fault, but he still feels guilty. It wasn't like he didn't, on some subconscious level, want this attention from Jay. 

He tries to go for something lighthearted.

"So have you guys done anything while we were gone, or should I expect to find a new record in collected hours on the playstation?" he taunts, not actually expecting an answer. He didn't exactly leave at the most exciting of times.

"Oh shut up. We've been working, actually. You know that weird break-in before you left?” Nya responds, looking a little more energized.

He does remember it, faintly. Mostly that it wasn't anything special, it had been a student flat and nothing of particular value had been stolen.

“We thought it was just a one-off, but they have just kept popping up all over the city. The same thing every time, the thief attacks while the victims are _ right there _ and disappear without a trace and the victims are left… Sick."

This grabs Cole's attention.

"Wait, sick? Sick how?"

Nya just shakes her head. It seems this might be what had her so tired.

"I'm not sure how to explain it to you, I think it's better if you could see the report for yourself. In fact, the flowers couldn't have gotten here at a better time. We might really come to need them."

She leaves the kitchen still looking frustrated.

What a cryptic answer. Cole kind of hoped they would get some time to cool down now that they're home, but it seems not.

He eats his noodles in silence.

* * *

He slides back into Jay's room as quietly as possible. Jay is still lying on the bed, but his head rises from the pillow when Cole closes the door behind him.

"Cole?" He says groggily.

"Hey, yeah, it's me. You can go back to sleep."

"Oh, great. I thought maybe you left."

"No, I just needed to eat something. 'Was hungry."

He sits back on the bed, Jay scooting over slightly to give him space and then latch onto his waist to pull him close. He wasn't very tired anymore, but he didn't mind staying so that Jay could rest. Especially with the Ninjendo Switch he went and got in his own room before heading back.

"Kiss goodnight?" Jay puckers his lips comically without opening his eyes.

Cole rolls his eyes and kisses Jay on the forehead instead, just to mess with him.

"Aw, your aim is shit." Jay mumbles, leaning his head on Cole's chest instead. He sighs contentedly, nuzzling the fabric of Cole's shirt and smiling. It's not long before he's asleep again.

Cole starts up his game, turning down the volume. His nose is full of Jay's hair, but he don't mind. He smells clean and sweet, like fruity shampoo. As far as smells go, he can't complain.

These days following a taxing mission is as close to an off-day as they ever get. It's not unusual for the exhaustion to take its toll. Tomorrow they'll be expected to catch up and get back to the field. Tonight though, they'll rest.

* * *

The next morning sees Cole finally back in the gym, getting in his morning work out for the first time in forever to the beautiful sound of peppy morning-music blasting from the shitty old radio in the corner. It doesn't take him all that long before his lungs are burning. Endurance never had been and never would be his strong suit, but being away hadn't made it better.

When he leaves the gym he does so feeling exhausted but pumped full of endorphins.

He hopes to find some fruit or unexpected baked goods to regain some electrolytes, but a quick look around the kitchen tells him Kai had been the last one on shopping-duty. Which means they had hot-flavoured snacks, soft drinks and not much else because Kai refused to bring a shopping list no matter how many times he forgot 90% of the things he went to the store for. (The great toilet paper fiasco of last year made that very clear.)

Cole drinks a glass of cold water and then pours himself dry cereal into a bowl. Crunchy.

As he sits down by their gross old dinner table which had probably not been properly cleaned since before he had left he can hear the sound of steps approaching. There's the instinctual feeling of something not quite right though you'd be hard-pressed to tell what it was, a heavyweight maneuvered on a light foot. Only one person it could be.

"Zane!" he greets with a toothy smile. Cole hasn't seen the other since they got back home. Unsurprisingly he looks perfectly put together, like their time away had not fazed him in the least.

"Hello Cole. How are you and Jay?"

"Good. We've been sleeping since we got home, more or less." Cole responds through bites of cereal. The suggestion in the words catch up to him finally, and he furrows his brows a bit. "You don't need to talk about us like we're a set though…"

"I only assumed you'd have seen him since we got back. It's common for people in love to search out the object of their affections."

Cole chokes on his loops, coughing a couple of times to clear out his throat. It wasn't Jay that had come to him, was it…

"So", he clears his throat once more to be safe, refusing to acknowledge the blush forcing its way onto his face; "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you around."

Zane is moving over to the  kettle , filling it up with water.

"I've been looking up how to prepare the flowers we brought back. They need to be dried, but I'm uncertain how to do that and keep the most of the taste."

Cole breathes out, gladly jumping on the chance to change the subject. He smiles.

"You know we're not drinking it because it's good, right? If it tastes like old shoelaces we'll just have to deal with it." 

"Of course." Zane nods his head, a playful smile on his lips as he picks a random cup out of the clean dishwasher. "But why wouldn't I make it the best it can be?"

"Then I suggest you add sugar to your recipe! Sweeter is always better." Cole winks, gesturing with his spoon. A couple of cereal pieces are flung over the table, but instead of rolling they immediately stick to the surface. Gross. 

Zane chuckles, looking amused but unsurprised.

"That might compromise the important future-seeing properties of the tea though. I couldn't risk that."

"Aha." Cole leans back in his chair. "Then I'm out of suggestions."

"Thank you for trying. I'll look into if there's some kind of native sweetener instead, for you."

"I wouldn't say no to that!"

Zane pulls out a chair at the table, though he throws one hesitant look at the sticky surface before sitting down and making a point of not touching it.

"So. Nya took it pretty well, didn't she?"

Aw shit. Of course  _ now _ he wanted to talk about the elephant in the room, when Cole finally had a moment of peace. Cole's hand slides up to scratch at his neck. A nervous tick.

"Yeah, I guess." He agrees, not meeting Zane's eyes. "It's a little awkward."

"Undoubtedly. It can't be a good feeling having to see someone you have feelings for in love with someone else."

Cole startles a little, eyes snapping up to the other. Zane's face gives nothing away as he continues to sip on his boiling hot tea like nothing, but something in the needle-sharp precision of the words hits like he wasn't speaking of Nya. Cole is left feeling like he had been stripped naked on the operating table, mouth opening and closing with no words coming out.

Zane's lack of a clear reaction is making it even worse. Does he know? Doesn't he? Is Cole just reading too much into it?

Zane interrupts his thought process by changing the subject.

"If you're not busy later by the way, you should check if anyone can catch you up on the case they've been dealing with while we were gone. The faster we can help out, the better." 

"Ah yeah, of course..." Cole mumbles. He takes that as his chance to stand up and put away his dishes, leaving the uncomfortable conversation from before behind. If his knees are shaking, no one needs to know.

* * *

Instead of wasting time on the playstation until everyone's awake he decides he might just as well go get them some decent food. Just in case someone decided to actually cook - or in a best-case scenario, bake.

He makes a quick inventory run around the house, trying not to wake anyone. He assumes at least one of them have been out patrolling all night by now.

He's pulling on his shoes when he hears a toilet flush followed by quiet footsteps coming down the hall behind him. Before they pass him in the hallway they stop. Cole looks back over his shoulder.

"Are you patrolling?" Jay sounds surprisingly alert considering the bedhead he's sporting suggesting he just woke up. Despite sleeping for most of the last 24 hours he looks ready to get back to bed again.

"Just making a grocery run", he answers, waving the handwritten list he made. 

"Oh." Jay follows the list with his eyes. "Wait, I'll join you, just give me a second!" and then he takes off back the way he came from without waiting for an answer.

Coles mouth opens to shout something, but then he closes it again when he realize he's not sure what. He can't tell Jay  _ not _ to come, what reason would he even have to do so? 'Sorry, I'm kinda in love with you and I think our friend might know and that really rattled me so I'd prefer if you left me alone'? He's not a complete jerk. Also, a second pair of hands would be a great help. Not to mention a second wallet.

Jay really doesn't take long before he's back, from the look of it having just pulled a black hoodie on top of his pyjamas. He slip on a pair of sandals and feints wanting to look at the shopping list so he can grab Cole by the hand and drag him outside.

It looks like it'll be a nice day, though the morning dew is still cool on the ground. Birds are singing somewhere in the distance and the sounds of already busy traffic can be heard from downtown.

"Whoa, this is a long list for an early morning trip!" Jay exclaims, finally having gotten a hold of it and reading through Cole's scribbles. He frowns, deep in thought before continuing in a deadpan voice; "Was Kai put on grocery duty again?"

Cole snorts.

"That's my best guess."

"Figures. He always sucks at shopping, I don't know why we even ask him to do it. I mean he went to the store three times to buy toilet paper and got home without it every time. You have to like, actively try to forget for that to happen. Or maybe not try? I guess if you try to forget it makes it harder to forget. Does that make sense? Did you take a shower earlier by the way? Your hair is wet, it reminded me I didn't get any hot water in the tap, I was thinking maybe-"

As Jay rambles on Coles's eyes slide down to his hand. They're not holding hands so much as Jay is holding onto his wrist, but also slowly trying to wrap their hands together while distracting him with his blabber. Cole isn't falling for it. He got that hand under strict observation.

Jay's shirt got extra long sleeves, and every time he angles his arm downwards they slide down and cover half of his hands. Now that he's looking closely, the entire garment looks large on Jay and not just fashionably oversized. Cole's eye twitches.

"Is that  _ my _ hoodie you're wearing?"

"Oh, you caught me! It's okay right?" Jay smiles, teeth showing, and gives Cole his best impression of puppy eyes. "You left it in my room. I liked how it smelled like you."

Cole looks away, not strong enough to both meet Jay's eyes and keep his blush at bay.

"I guess it's fine. But I'm not doing your laundry for you later, you wear it you wash it!"

Jay does a little happy skip.

"Joke's on you, because I don't do my laundry either. I just throw all my dirty clothes into a pile, and one day it will be high as the room itself, and then it will fall, killing me on impact."

"...You had that all planned out?"

"I think a lot about hypotheticals."

They pass the car shop where Jay works part-time on their way and Jay waves to the woman drinking coffee outside. Superheroing didn't bring in much money, and "Food isn't cheap" as Jay would say (though Cole suspected he sent a lot of his earnings back home to his parents). He was a really hard worker - even if he didn't always act like it. Cole liked that about him.

He himself mostly made his pocket change through small odd jobs here and there, often someone requiring someone strong to help lift some thing or another. He had helped more people move than he could count. It's kind of funny imagining how surprised the customers would be if they knew the true identity of their mechanic or craigslist help. 

The grocery store they finally arrive at is empty apart from a couple of old ladies and employes busy with restocking the shelves. The fluorescent light does a great job accentuating their dead, tired eyes.

Somehow though the unflattering light has no effect on Jay, in his pyjama pants and messy hair. He looks perfectly comfortable in there at 8 am in his socks and sandals, comparing the prices on different bottles of orange juice. There's something about supermarkets in the morning that makes them into this kind of liminal space, filled only with breakfast-shopping tourists or other people you'd normally never see around. In this place of strangers Jay shines just as timeless as the store itself. It's hard to take your eyes off him.

He's a quick and methodical shopper, ticking everything off on their list before moving to the next thing. He easily steers Cole away from the candy aisle and back towards the vegetables when his weak self tries to make a detour.

They get back home with three full bags, and Cole is silently glad Jay went with him because no way he could've carried it all by himself without spilling groceries all over the street.

Jay opens up the front door and they kick off their shoes, letting their future selves be bothered by finding where each shoe went.

When they enter the kitchen the dinner table is spotless. Zane isn't anywhere to be seen, but Cole sends him a mental  _ thank you _ .

Putting away groceries is also easy as they work in tandem. It's not the first time they've done this, and it hits Cole how awfully domestic it is. Like this, it's easy to spend time with Jay and not worry about anything.

Once everything in the kitchen is in its right place, the only thing left to do is for Cole to sulk over his lack of sweets. It was for his own good, granted, but still. He had spent more money than he should've on pastries in the days of boredom leading up to their trip.

"Here."

Cole looks over his shoulder to find Jay already looking back at him while holding out a nondescript paper bag.

"What's that?"

Cole didn't see anything like that while they were shopping.

Jay just smiles in response, handing it over. He opens it up to find a small, freshly baked chocolate cake neatly placed in a plastic box. His favourite too, with chocolate chips and fudge frosting. Just the smell makes his mouth water.

"No way! How did you buy this without me noticing!" He picks up the boxed cake and holds it to his chest like a treasure. It sure feels like one.

"Guess you could say I'm like a ninja that way." Jay wiggles his fingers and winks, smiling widely with all his teeth before turning away as he carries an XL-pack of toilet paper towards the bathroom. Cole is left standing in the kitchen, staring after him as he waits for his heart to calm down. Jay is probably three rooms away by the time Cole realizes what he is doing.

_ Oh. Oh no. _

Focus. Jay's controlled by the bug. It doesn't mean anything.

_ But he did know Cole's favourite cake. _

But he probably just made a lucky guess! There's no reason to think he had it memorized since before.

_ But what are the chances he'd pick exactly the right frosting too? _

It's just cake, who cares?

_ Cole does! Cole cares!! _

He has to take a deep breath, straightening his back so he can walk out of the kitchen and back to his own bedroom. No way he was eating this cake anywhere someone else might come bursting in and get their grubby little hands on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to figure out how to divide the story, so I guess this kind of ended up being a slow chapter. Oh well. Pining and such.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had the next chapter written more or less but then I decided... I didn't like the pacing, so I wrote this whole new one and pushed in there instead, dragging out the time. Oh well!

Lloyd is stretched out on the couch, one leg thrown over the back of it and one on the floor in front and taking up as much space as he possibly could. It looks not unlike a lazy cat sunbathing, laid out on it's back. From the sound of it he’s watching funny videos on the tablet in his hands. It's held at chest-level, high enough that if the screen went momentarily dark he'd see himself reflected back as a flattering 70% double chin.

Cole knocks on the wall next to the doorway to get his attention before entering.

"Hey. I was thinking I should catch up a bit on Ninja-stuff. I thought maybe you could show me what I've missed?" He walks across the room, dodging bean bags and an old pizza box on the floor. Their living room is one of the larger rooms in the house and where they tend to end up to all hangout. The light from the singular window reflects on the tv, so the blinds are usually always drawn and leaves the room in a permanent state of semi-darkness.

"Sure!" Lloyd straightens up, making space for him on the couch.

"Uh. Right." Cole scratches at his chin, sliding down into the offered seat. “Nya said you've been working on the case from before we left, with the break-in. How's it going?"

"Not great. The whole thing is really strange. Here, let me show you."

Lloyd finally looks up from the iPad as he passes it over with a copy of a document credited the Ninjago Police Department open. (Cole didn't know how they actually got hold of these files, and he never asked. Presumably? Not legally.) The file specifies a break in, standard two-bedroom apartment with one young adult female resident who had been home at the time of the break-in. Jewelry and cash had been stolen to a value of a little under $1000.

He scrolls to the next case. Three-bedroom apartment, single male resident home when it happened, less than $200 stolen. Third case, the same thing. Fourth case, it's starting to look like a pattern. He stops reading and looks back to Lloyd.

"Wait, here." Lloyd grabs the tablet again, clicking at something before giving it back. "This is the interesting part."

_"The plaintiff left statement reporting events occurred according to the following timeline:"_

Aha, that must be what Nya had meant before. Curious, he starts reading.

_"Witness gets home as usual around 5pm and prepares dinner. She sits down to eat in front of the tv when she notices a bad smell in the air, like burnt sugar. She stands up to check if she's left something on the stove, when a man without a face dressed in a green bowler-hat appears asking for directions. Despite being inside her own home she doesn't think anything strange about this. Before she can give them to him however he disappears. Small creatures with large teeth start running around her feet all over the ground like she is walking in a stream. She explains she jumps back onto the couch because she doesn't want to accidentally hurt them. A bluebird tells her that she should dye her eyes green and she claims she gets into a fight with it that might have been physical, but might have not been. The creatures are now all over her hands so she tries to wipe them off using a towel. She says she can't remember where she got the towel from. Towel turns into a winged cat, so she opens up the window and let it out. Then the currents around her feet trip her, and she hits her head on the table and she falls unconscious. She wakes up a couple of hours later with a concussion, and things are back to normal."_

Cole is lost for words. What the hell.

"Do they _all_ sound like this?"

"The exact events are different, but they are all at the same level of incomprehensibility. Except several of the victims can remember a bad smell at the start - we think that whatever it is, it's the cause of these hallucinations that distracts them from the burglar."

"Makes sense." Cole murmurs, scrolling through the rapport again trying to make sense of anything. "What about witnesses? Neighbors?"

"The only witnesses are the victims. And they're not really… Cohesive."

“Any clues _at all_?”

"Well. There's the smell. Also the victims are all young. Like, barely adults-young. They got different backgrounds and occupations, but they're all young people living alone, and whatever was stolen it wasn't worth a whole lot." Yeah, Cole figured as much from reading the files.

"Any specific area of the city?"

"No, it's spread out all over. Oh, but they all live in flats." Lloyd adds. Cole raises an eyebrow.

"That's not really uncommon in the city..."

"Well, no."

They both sit in silence for a moment as Cole scrolls through another couple of files. All the same.

"So what's the plan?" He finally asks as he hands back the tablet.

Lloyd sighs.

"At the moment, nothing. The best we've got so far is just patrolling as normal and trying to lure them out of hiding, but they haven't shown their face yet."

Cole crosses his arms.

"Well that sucks. We're just gonna wait around for another break-in?"

"There's not really anything else we can do. But having you guys back is gonna be a huge help! We can actually make a rotation instead of getting two hours of sleep each night. We might be able to try and bait them to come out."

"Bait them?" Cole raises an eyebrow, questioning. "How would we do that?"

Lloyd shrugs.

"Dressing in casual clothes and walking up and down the streets?" He answers, though it sounds like a question.

"I guess that would do the trick…" Cole answers hesitantly.

Lloyd shrugs again, looking over at the clock before putting down the iPad and standing up.

"Well, good or not, I'm on patrol duty in ten so I gotta go get changed. I'll talk to you later though." He points one last time at the tablet. "If you want to, you can read up on all the cases in the meantime. The files are all in there. Who knows, maybe you'll spot something we've missed."

"Later." He bids adieu as Lloyds walks out of the room. He looks at the tablet thoughtfully but decides against it. This is still his off day and he's gonna get the most out of it.

* * *

The ceiling in Cole's room is made up of thirty-six white plates, there are three dead flies stuck inside the ceiling lamp, and Cole is _literally_ rolling his thumbs.

He's bored. Lloyd left for patrol, Zane and Wu were busy with the tea and Kai had been on the early hour shift. Nya was… Probably around somewhere, technically. Cole is stuck with the moist, mouth-watering, no-less-than delicious cake that _he has decided he is saving until he can share it with Jay_. Which is the least he can do, because Jay bought it.

But Jay went to take a bath, and everyone that knows Jay knows that is code word for bubbles, bath salts and the whole shebang which in turn means he'll be gone for god knows how long.

Which is fine with Cole. No problems. Because the cake has no control over him. He's a ninja god damn it, and he can wait however long he wants to. No problem.

It'd just be somewhat easier to ignore it sitting there, on his desk, if he had literally anything else to occupy his mind with. He could go back to the gym, but he was still feeling that morning's workout. He could watch a movie, but he couldn't find one that felt _right_ . He could play a game, but his 3ds were still charging and all his video games were multiplayer. He could cook something to eat but what's the fun if he had no one to ~~unleash it upon~~ share it with?

He pulls himself off the bed with a drawn-out groan. He might as well look around, if he was just going to spend the very last of his time off mentally battling with a cake. There might be something he could watch on the living room tv.

His movements are almost soundless as he glides down the corridors. Cicadas have already started to play their songs outside and without any noise inside the house he can actually hear it through the cracks where the windows have been left open. It gives him a pretty sweet beat to walk/dance/slide all the way down the linoleum-floored corridor, leading from his room to the rest of the house.

Just before entering the living room he is stopped in his tracks by the sound of soft snores coming from inside. Styled brown hair is sticking up behind the armrest on the couch, right where Lloyd had been spread out a few hours ago. The tv is silently playing some B-list sitcom in the background. His mood pummels into annoyance, and he very much feels like stomping his foot like a frustrated child.

Great, he can't even watch TV to waste his time then. Stupid Kai. Cole still tries to move quietly to avoid waking him.

Lacking of a better idea, he just keeps walking down the hall and hopes that he'll come across something that could keep him entertained for a little while. 

The saving grace finally comes as the metallic clinging of bowls and pans bumping together inside the kitchen, telling him someone was both home and awake.

Eagerly peeking inside he sees an unruly head of curly brown hair leaned over the counter - the tips still wet and sticking to his skin. Cole's heart does a little happy leap in his chest when he realizes this means Jay is done with his bath.

"Jay!" he calls out as he leaps into the room, maybe a little too enthusiastically. The aforementioned visibly startles and spins around, dropping the pan he'd been holding. It clatters on top of the others with a loud bang.

"Cole!" Jay screeches in a way that sounds less like an acknowledgment and more like a scolding. Cole snickers, throwing him a faux-apologetic smile. Feels good to finally get him back after all the time he’s spent flustering Cole since Namon.

"Sorry. All this pent up excess energy, you know." He lies. Jay gives him a look that says he doesn't buy it in the least. He goes back to the bowl he had been holding and inspects it for any dirt or cracks before putting it back in the cabinet.

"And here I was planning on getting us energy drinks for tonight. But I will assume you won't need any then." He says sarcastically while going back to picking out the "right" bowls. It's clearly meant to be a taunt, but Cole doesn't get it.

"Wait, what's tonight?" He inquires. Jay looks back at him, surprised.

"Kai made it sound like we're stuck with the late hour shift when he got home earlier. Didn't he tell you too?"

"Nah, he seems to have conked out on the couch." Cole responds while stretching his arms over his head, popping his back. "We're on patrol already? Sheesh, they must be desperate to get out of it. Have anyone updated you on the case yet?" He pretends not to see Jay's eyes follow the way his shirt lifts and exposes a sliver of skin on his midriff. If he drags the movement out a little longer than necessary to stroke his own pride, it's nothing that could be proven.

"Not yet," Jay confirms as he goes back to his bowls, "but I'm meeting with Nya in a minute so I assume she'll tell me all about it."

Cole blanks, finally lowering his arms.

"You're… Meeting with Nya?" He asks with thinly veiled disbelief.

"Yeah, we're gonna hang out in her room and watch a movie." Jay answers, oblivious. "I'm sure you can join us if you want!"

Cole swallows, throat suddenly dry. 

"Oh. Well. I was thinking maybe just the two of us could head back to mine and share the cake you bought. You know, play a game or something, put on Ninjaflix, eat the cake. Read some comics, maybe. Did I mention the cake?"

Jay spins around, smiling innocently. Cole almost relaxes, thinking he got this one in the bag. Then Jay speaks.

"I'd love to, but Nya's already waiting.” He says while walking over. “You go ahead though! I'll see you later." Jay slaps a wet kiss on Coles's cheek before rushing out of the room carrying too many bowls of snacks. _Ah. That's what those were for._ Cole is too surprised to even pretend to fend him off, instead staring after him as he skips away with a sinking heart.

Okay, so maybe he is being a little melodramatic. It's not like he expected to be the sole focus of Jay's attention or anything. Jay and Nya are just hanging out. They did that a lot pre-bug, so why would he expect it to change? He _didn't_. 

He just assumed that since Jay had gotten him a cake, that maybe he'd want to enjoy it _together_. Also maybe that Nya would be uncomfortable hanging around Jay now, much like Cole was hanging around Nya.

That's on him. He shouldn't assume, people always told him that. Don't assume people's gender, don't assume people's sexuality, don't assume your brainwashed crush's girlfriend isn't going to want to hang out with him.

He wonders if Jay knew Nya's favorite cake too. He probably did. Damn him for being such a good boyfriend.

He grabs a spoon out of the drawer. It's all bent and knobbly like someone accidentally bent it and in their attempts to fix it made it worse.

He wonders if it's a sign from above not to eat the cake. (Or maybe it's just a sign they really should take better care of their cutlery.)

* * *

So according to Yahoo Answers, Jay's dismissal means he is fine with Cole eating the cake without sharing and he shouldn't feel bad about doing it. _Also_ according to Yahoo Answers he's being a clingy bitch who should just let his friend hang out with his girlfriend without making a fuzz.

So like, screw them, but he's still eating it.

He cuts a piece of cake and puts it on a plate. The piece is large enough to dwarf the porcelain, which he hopes is enough cake to fill the extrovert-shaped hole in his chest.

Moping around and feeling sorry for himself, he figures he got nothing better to do than go eat it alone in his room. None of his friends seems to want his company anyway. He's utterly alone. (The small detail that the others were either away, asleep or had literally invited him to come hang out with them is insignificant and doesn't count. He's suffering.)

On his way he notices the snoring has stopped in the living room, so he peeks his head inside. Kai still looks half asleep, but his eyes are indeed open and looking at the tv.

"I thought you went to bed." Cole says in lieu of a greeting. He eagerly walks over to one of the bean bags and sits down, happy to finally have some company and brain rotting reality shows to amuse himself with.

"I did. Couldn't sleep, it's too hot." Kai mumbles in response without looking away from the screen. He does look tired, eyes heavily lidded with bags underneath. His stare is vacant and Cole doubts he's actually paying attention to the show.

"You want some cake?" Cole motions to the plate on his lap. He only asking to be courteous. If Kai wants so much as a crumb he's gonna have to pull it from Cole's cold, dead hands and they both know it.

"Nah, I'm good." Kai smiles, his eyes falling closed for a couple of seconds before he seems to catch himself. Cole turns and starts watching the tv instead. If he had sat down while Kai was still asleep, it would have been creepy. However if he falls asleep while Cole's already there, it totally still counts as hanging out _and_ Cole gets control over the remote. Double score.

"Where's loverboy?" Kai suddenly asks, surprising Cole by showing he's more conscious than he'd assumed. He has to chew down the large piece of cake he had just stuffed into his mouth before he can respond.

"With your sister." He answers before immediately taking another bite. He's lucky Kai is so out of it, or he might have commented on the grumpy pout that had befallen his face as he answered. Instead Kai just lets out a surprised 'huh', that makes Cole just as uneasy. He turns to stare at Kai with suspicion.

"What?" he asks, mouth still full. It comes out closer to a " _uadd_ ".

"Nothing. I'm just kinda surprised honestly that you would allow them to hang out."

"What do you mean? I don't decide who they hang out with. They can do what they want." He puts the spoon down.

" _I mean"_ Kai spins around on the couch like a lazy snake, raising his upper body onto his elbows to make eye contact. "Jay is probably in there right now waxing poetic about you, laying it on real thick. Being unusually suggestible to spill any secrets he might have sworn to keep in his attempts to brag."

"What? No way. Why would he do that?"

"Because of the bug, duh." Kai exclaims, gesturing with his hand. "He can't help it." 

Cole rolls his eyes, leaning back in the beanbag and relaxing. It makes a crunchy noise as the stuffing moves around and settles.

"That's ridiculous. He didn't lose his mind, he still knows what a secret is." He says before going back and stuffing another oversized bite into his mouth.

"Whatever you say, bunny bottoms."

Cole's eyes widen as they snap to Kai so sharply his bones crack audibly. He swallows the cake without properly chewing, and it goes down his throat like a dry lump.

" _What_ did you just say?"

"Hm? Nothing." Kai fakes nonchalance, though the smirk on his face suggests otherwise. Cole stares for another couple of seconds before he swears under his breath.

"He did _not-_ "

"Oh, but he did." Kai smiles wickedly. "Nya will probably come out either ready to murder you, or with the blackmail of the century. I'm a little jealous." He makes an exaggerated pouty face.

Cole must make a face of realization, because Kai starts cackling.

"You will be doing her chores for years to come, dude."

"I need to… Go." He stands up, cake wobbling dangerously as he swiftly walks out of the room. Kai's cackling laughter can be heard harmonizing with the TVs laugh tracks all the way down the hallway.

* * *

It's not that he distrusts Jay, or Nya for that matter. He knows Kai was just trying to pull his leg. He's always doing that, trying to get a rise out of others. He was probably faking the whole thing so he could laugh at Cole later.

He's just gonna peek a little bit to make sure they're doing fine and haven't run out of snacks. Nothing to do with what Kai said alluding to the specific boxer briefs that he's had ever since he was 15, with a print that says "check out these buns" on the back and a whole bunch of little bunnies all over. They happen to be really comfy, great for working out in and _only Jay had known about their existence_. 

Miniscule peek, they won't even have to know he's there. Then he's leaving them alone.

Nya and Jay are in Nya's room, which is on the second floor at the end of the hallway. That makes it hard to just accidentally pass by and act innocent. If at any moment Nya or Jay were to open the door or, in the case the door is already open, look over, he would be screwed. In the business, that is what they call a _high-risk operation_.

However, the useful part of it being at the end of the hallway is that it means it's also right next to the small balcony overlooking the gardens.

Nya likes to open up windows around the house some days when the weather is nice because it allows the air to circulate and a house full of young men tends to run hot. Deducing from the sound of cicadas earlier, Cole knows that today is such a day. And if sounds got _in_ it also got _out_.

The balcony is easy to access. Usually they didn't use it much because it's too small to fit more than one and a half person at a time. It is also located just above Wu's flower garden, which offered a beautiful view but meant insects flocked there en masse.

The door slides open and closes silently behind him. Once outside though he starts to doubt his brilliant plan. The window of Nya's room is located to the side of the balcony, too far away at too steep an angle to see inside even leaning as far over as he can over the rail. He doubts he'll hear anything being said through the window unless they're talking through a speaker. 

They might not live in the heart of the city, but they live close enough that they can easily slip away into the shadows without being seen. The point of secret identities would be kinda useless if they could be spotted walking back and forth to their house on the daily. So even if it's not just outside the door it's not unusual to hear people down the road who are stomping on the gas, braking, honking or yelling at one another. And he had caught the rush hour dead on.

He'd hoped that an open window would be enough to listen in on what Jay and Nya were talking about, but all he manages to make out over the background noise is the murmur of indistinguishable chatter. 

He realizes he needs to get _closer_.

He carefully climbs over the frail railing, gripping it tightly with his hands as he stretches out his arms as far as he can in a mock-push up. His feet are planted safely on the bottom of the balcony, but at the angle his body is in it's his arms carrying all of his weight.

The new position allows him to just about peek inside the window, so that's what he does. From behind a couple of plants he spots his friends lying spread out sideways on Nya's bed, with Nya on her back and feet on the floor and Jay on his stomach next to her. He can't see Nya's expression but Jay is smiling and his shoulders are shaking like he's laughing. They do not seem to be watching a movie as Jay had said they would, which makes warning signs go off inside Cole's head. Could Kai have been right for once?

He tries to get a better view, but the plants are in the way. He still can't make out what they're saying and trying to read Jay's lips is hard. He clicks his tongue in annoyance.

He stretches out his neck as far as he can. Just a little bit closer… If only he could see-

Jay mouths something that he's pretty sure is his name. His eyebrows rise as his entire body perks up with attention and he gasps, subconsciously leaning in further to figure out what is being said about him.

Transfixed on the conversation, he barely notices how his grip on the balcony loosens until the weight of his body gets a harsh reminder from gravity.

His grasp on the railing slips, and so does he.

He loses his balance and he lets out a startled shout, arms waving wildly, and within a second he's hit the flower bed below ass-first. 

For a moment he just lies there, catching his breath that had been punched out of him. Then reality catches up and all kinds of NEW warning bells are going off inside his head.

He had taken many falls before, from much higher places and in much more dangerous situations. But those had generally not been on top of Wu's prized begonias...

Groaning and on his back, he rolls over to assess the poor flowers he had just crushed with his body. The stems are broken and there are stray petals strewn about. It's a complete murder scene and it wasn't going to look any less gory once Wu found out who was responsible.

Not to mention his pants now have a large brown dirt-stain on the ass. 

"Well that's just great…" he mutters to himself. He had managed to kill a bunch of innocent plants, put a price on his head AND ruined his pants at the same time. 

"Cole?" 

He's startled by the voice above him, and looking up he finds Nya and Jay watching him through the (now wide open) window.

Shit.

"H-hey guys!" He panics, scrambling onto his feet. "I was just… Checking on the dirt here, in this flower bed. You know, big fan of dirt what with the, uh, earth thing and all!"

"Okay..?"

"Yep. Yup. So I'm just gonna go and, uh, go."

He takes a step, wincing at the pain in his backside. It'll pass shortly, but for now it has him wobbling like a penguin.

He stops in his tracks when he hears Jay's laughter. His eyes fly back up to the window as his cheeks redden. He expected them to be mad, but Nya doesn't look pissed off at all. In fact she looks amused. She's covering half her face with her palm as if hiding a smile.

"Were you spying on us?" She asks.

"What?? No." He answers way too quickly. "If anything, you were spying on _me_. Look at you, hanging out the window like that. What would Wu say if he saw you? Shame on you." He digs himself deeper.

Nya dismisses his accusation with an eye-roll.

"This isn't like you and I would be suspicious, but it's also hilarious to see you embarrass yourself so I don't even care." She puts her chin in her palm, elbow planted on the window sill. "For your information, nothing naughty was going on."

Cole feels his face blossom up with heat. He hopes he's too far away for it to be visible.

"I wasn't- I didn't think-!" He squeaks out but is interrupted by Jay, who ignores them both to instead go into a passionate rant.

"We were just dunking on the terrible character establishment in the Earth 35 comic. There is, like, so much wrong with it. Like the villain-Fritz narrative doesn't even make sense- why would he just betray Joanna like that when he had already said she reminded him of his dead daughter!" Jay gesticulates with his entire body.

"Well, _one_ of us was doing that." Nya gives Jay a long-suffering look that he is completely blind to. Then she turns back to Cole with a calculating smile. "You should join us. We were just about to put on a movie." Jay nods enthusiastically in agreement.

"Oh, uh, no it's fine." Cole says awkwardly and tries to back away, which works poorly with his wobbling. On one hand he kind of do want to hang out, but on the other hand they _had_ just caught him spying on them. He didn't like the calculating look in Nya's eyes. She was on his tail, he could tell. Probably just waiting for him to mess up.

"Oh pleeease!" Jay pleads, innocently excited. "We could watch the movie in your room instead, the internet connection in Nyas' is crap."

"What's wrong with _your_ room?" Cole protests.

"Beds' too small."

Cole stares.

"Bed… Too small?" He repeats, confused.

"Too small." Jay confirms.

"We'll meet you downstairs." Nya smiles, already moving away from the window and not giving him a chance to respond.

* * *

Cole limps inside with all the grace of someone who had just fallen hard on their ass. Jay and Nya both look like they're holding back laughter, meeting him in the hallway outside his bedroom.

"Poor baby, want me to kiss it better?" Jay says in mock sympathy and goes in for what _looks_ like a hug, but what really is nothing less than poking fun at him. 

"Fuck off." Cole grumpily stops him with one outstretched arm, spins him around and pushes him back to Nya. He might be a little bit embarrassed and attempts to just ignore the other two. He opens his door and heads straight for his wardrobe, pulling off his pants (wincing only a little) and rummaging through for another pair as Jay laughs behind him.

"Nice underwear." Nya comments with amusement leaking through, which quickly has him looking down. Yeah, of-fucking-course it's the bunny ones. He groans.

Nya throws herself onto the bed laughing, bouncing a couple of times.

"And maybe you should look at where the damage _is_ before offering to kiss it better." She says to Jay, putting her arms behind her head as a headrest. "Or are you that desperate to kiss Cole's ass?"

Cole's head snaps up in indignation, mouth hanging open in a silent protest. Jay looks like he is about to respond, but the mischievous twinkle in his eye tells Cole he does not want to hear whatever it is that's about to come out. 

"SO WHAT DID YA WANNA' WATCH." He cuts Jay off before he can get a word out, not so much a question as a weaponized change in conversation. Jay looks kind of thrown off guard. Nya just looks like he played right into her hands. 

Kai chooses that exact moment to slam open the door, startling everyone. His hair is a bigger mess than usual and he stomps inside without giving anyone so much as a sideways glance. He throws himself into the ratty armchair from Cole's first apartment, making the old springs groan in protest under his weight.

The former inhabitants take a moment before they snap out of their surprise where they are just staring at the long-legged man, pouting like a toddler in the comically small sofa. Jay is the first one to regain his senses.

"Uhm, I'm sure I'll regret asking this, but what's up with you? You look like you're gonna set something on fire any second now." He asks, one eyebrow raised and shooting nervous glances towards Kai's hands on the armrest. Cole is trying on his end to figure out how flammable his armchair might be. On one hand the fabric is so stretched thin by age that it was sure to be a quick process, likely killing the fire before it had gotten a shot to truly experience the wonders of life. On the other hand, who knows what liquids and other things that had been spilled on it and soaked up by the cushions at one point or another. It could be a bomb waiting to go off. _What were the criteria for an environmental hazard?_

"It's nuffin'" Kai grumbles into his own collar, defiantly crossing his arms and pouting. The other people in the room just stare silently in disbelief.

"Yeah, you sure sold us on that one storming in here like a drama queen." Nya sarcastically answers from her place on the bed, frowning.

"It's nothing, seriously." Kai groans, letting his arms fall down. His shoulders relax slightly. "Just some old jerk politician on twitter apparently condemning us. The Mayor went on statement calling it "bad publicity" for the city."

"Wait, what!?" Nya sits up. " _We_ are bad publicity? If the police _he_ hired did their job properly and helped people instead of taking bribes and cover-up tracks, we wouldn't even have to pick up their slack in the first place!" She protests. Jay voices his agreement.

"That's what I said too", Kai hisses out through his teeth. "But I guess that doesn't matter to these people. They're fine with this shit happening as long as it's a sure way they can stuff their pockets with dirty money. It makes me sick!"

"What was the tweet?" Jay asks. "Did you read it?"

"Sure, here-" Kai sighs, picks up his phone and starts scrolling. He clicks on something and hands it over to Jay. Nya and Cole both lean over to see what's on the screen. Nya starts reading out loud:

"Senator Jake Richman - 'Disgusting that NC is still letting these violent ninja thugs run around freely destroying property and hurting people. This is why we need to invest in alternative methods of subduing criminals. Rubber bullets aren't enough to stop these crooks."

Nya takes a deep breath, processing.

"First of all - violent thugs!? We don't even have weapons! We take down everyone without serious injury and bring in evidence that the police would just ignore. This guy wants to _shoot_ _us_ and then he dares call _us_ thugs!?"

Cole can only agree. A shiver runs down his spine too. It's disturbing seeing such sentiments being openly rallied against you. This is why they wear the masks, after all.

Jay scrolls down to read the replies and winces. A lot of angry white middle-aged people have posted their agreements.

"Man what is wrong with people." Cole mumbles. So many people were ready to hurt them, just for trying to protect the poor and weak. It's quite sombering.  
  


"They're not all bad though." Jay attempts to lighten up the mood. "At least this guy's on our side, Mr… "Red's Hot Butt"..?"

Kai perks up upon hearing the name as if he recognizes it.

"Ah, yes, a gentleman of fine taste." 

Nya looks up at him, down at the phone, and then up again.

"There's a delete button on that post."

In one synchronized move they all go from staring at the screen to stare at Kai in utter disbelief.  
  


"You have a fan account for _yourself_?" Nya sounds disgusted but not surprised.

"It lets me interact with the fans!" Kai brings his hands up in defense. "I can see if there are any theories getting dangerously close to the truth, and- _and_ help spread stupid rumors to keep them off our actual tracks."

Cole's eyebrows disappear under his bangs in surprise.

"That's pretty smart actually…" He says. Nya nods hesitantly as Jay agrees.

"I kinda want one now too." Jay says with a pout. Then he clicks on the profile and scrolls to look at the latest posts. Nya reads it out loud again:

"Theory: Black wears bunny-themed underwear."  
  


"Kai! What the hell!" Cole throws his dirty pants at his head. Jay likes the post.

* * *

They do eventually settle down on Cole's bed in one great cuddle pile to watch a movie (some action comedy Jay and Kai had wanted to see and Cole and Nya could accept without too much fuzz). Judging from the way his friends laugh every now and then it's pretty good. Cole isn't really paying attention to what's happening on screen.

Instead, he can't help watching Jay out of the corner of his eye, laughing at some cheesy joke or another. His eyes crinkled and bright, teeth showing and dimples in his cheeks. It makes Cole's heart flutter with fondness. It's a nice moment where they all can just enjoy the presence of each other.

But the thought is there, nagging in the back of his mind and constantly trying to push forward. All the little details playing over and over inside his head.

_Was there a chance Jay had had feelings for him even before he was stung?_

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

"This is sooo boring."

"Why, are you stuck on a roof watching some dork walk around town and kicking at cans? No wait, that's me."

Cole yawns. He hasn't moved for hours and likely won't for just as many to come, watching Jay walking through the city through his high tech night vision binoculars. It's their first night taking over from the stay at home-crew, and he's already sick to death of it. Usually they at least move around - keeping one eye open while checking in on the police radio to stay updated about any suspicious activities. But tonight they're just focused on trying to lure this one burglar out of hiding and, if he can say so himself, it's decidedly _not_ working. Stakeouts are the worst.

At least he got his fluffy blanket to keep him warm. Jay looks less comfortable in his jeans and thin leather jacket, though he at least is allowed to walk around. He's probably waking up half the street with the can-kicking.

"You should recycle that can by the way." Cole adds when he gets no immediate response.

Jay snorts through the com. He looks around as if to make sure no one is watching him before he answers.

(It's the middle of the night on a weekday. The street is capital-e _Empty_.)

"Didn't feel like it would fit my character. I'm a bad boy, you know." He flips the collar of his jacket to make a point. He is dressed in a mock-up of 'civilian clothes', though his suit is hidden underneath. Cole can't help the smile tugging at his lips. Especially when Jay does pick up the can and throw it in a public trashcan.

"Ohh, what a rebel. Won't recycle, but draws the line at littering." 

"Right?" Jay responds, smile so powerful it can be felt through the coms.

Cole and Jay were put on a team together because Lloyd and Kai still think they're being hilarious by torturing Cole. Nya had looked sort of conflicted about it, her eyebrows furrowing but choosing not to say anything.

Cole had made a very weak protest that had easily been overruled. Especially with Jay's enthusiastic agreement. To be quite honest, he isn’t that upset about it. They work well as a team.

They go on in silence for a little while, checking a couple of streets, before Jay breaks it again.

"I really don't think this is how they find their victims. Like, didn't Green say they all lived alone? How would they know that if they picked them off of the street?" Cole just makes a noncommittal noise in response. It's a good point, but he doesn't have the energy to give a fuck at the moment.

"And like. Are we supposed to think it's just circumstance that they picked a group of people that was unlikely to be considered a high priority by the police? This is too well planned to be random bad luck."

"We don't really have anything else to go off, though." Cole sighs. That shuts Jay up for a couple of minutes as he walks down yet another street. A rat startles him as it jumps out of a trashcan and scurries into an alley.

Jay makes a drawn-out, suffering sound. It's somewhere between a groan and a whine.

"What young person can even afford to live by themself in a two-bedroom apartment?" He mutters, clearly annoyed.

"Don't ask me," Cole answers in his best deadpan voice, "I live in a communal facility with a bunch of nerds."

Jay chuckles over the comlink, and it makes Cole smile too. His heart flutters a little in pride at being the one that made that laugh happen. This is just the normal them. Joking around, messing with each other, Cole pining from a safe distance. 

"Really? Sounds hot, you looking for a roommate?" Jay responds, wagging his eyebrows though he got no idea where Cole is or if he would even be able to see it. What a nerd.

Cole snorts, but before he got any chance to respond there's a crash on Jay's end. It's loud enough that Cole hears it through the earpiece and it sounds as if someone had just broken a window.

"What the hell?"

Jay is already running to investigate, apparently not caring about staying undercover anymore. He disappears into the shadows behind a building and is lost from view. Cole swears under his breath before jumping to his feet, taking chase.

He's immediately mourning the loss of his blanket. The night winds are icy cold on the exposed skin of his cheeks. The night vision goggles zoom out and mark Jay like a map.

"Jay, status?"

There's no response. He swears, kicking off the edge of the roof.

Luckily "on top of buildings" is a surprisingly swift form of transportation in this part of town, where the houses have been built close together. Grabbing onto the protruding flagpole of one house he flings himself onto the next one, barely halting to regain his footing before he's off again. The radio silence from Jay got him pushing himself a little harder.

He's so focused on the red dot marking Jay's location he almost doesn't notice the person appearing suddenly from a fire escape until he crashes into her, stopping both of them in their tracks.

To both of their credit they manage to stay upright, though they both stagger a bit. The woman is wearing a dark green hooded one piece with tall boots strapped up to her thighs. Thick gloves cover her hands and a cute alien-design mask shield her face from view. She looks out of place on the empty roof, but Cole suspects he isn't the one that gets to complain about other people's sense of fashion. He has enough time to think that he should apologize for running into her, but then she picks up a small glass vial out of a hidden pocket. It looks like an inconspicuous perfume bottle, but the action immediately gets Cole on the defensive. She sprays it in the air in front of her and a dark smoke spreads out explosively, like a fire in dry grassland. 

Cole tries to duck away but it's already too late.

_His fingers are already snakes, and all they want is to have a home for the winter._ He falls to his knees. _The ground is breaking open to reveal colorful chickens have been hiding underneath, but he can't grab them with his snake-fingers and that is so frustrating he could cry. They look so soft. He wants to hold them._

_He is very vaguely aware that Jay runs past him, maybe. It's more like an instinct telling him that's what happens. He isn't sure what happens next though because he is busy trying to catch the chickens so he can pet them. They are all oil-colored sea of fluff. He could just jump right in and join them, but his fingers might get cold so they crawl into his hands and up to his arms. That's so smart. Why didn't he think of this sooner? He'll never be cold again._

_h, Jay is back. Or is it an imposter? It sure looks like Jay, because it's blue. Jay is also blue. Almost all of him. That's great. Jay is also great. He says as much. Or maybe he thinks it? He's not sure what's the difference. He should show Jay the chickens- if he only could catch them-_

Every muscle in his body suddenly cramps, and he lets out a soundless scream as he can't move. He's aware of every part of himself in a way he never was as every nerve lights up with pain.

Then everything goes black.

* * *

He wakes up in a bed in the infirmary feeling like a train ran him over and then took a shit upon his body. He isn't sure how he got there or how long he's been out of it.

"Uhrrm?" He tries to say something, but his throat is so dry it comes out as nothing more than some scrambled noises. It does however seem to do the trick of alerting someone he's awake. 

Kai comes running over, looking like he's barely had any sleep.

"Cole! How're you feeling?" He hastily sits down in the chair next to the bed, pulling it in so he can lean in as close as possible.

"Not great." Cole manages to croak out, slightly disoriented. "What happened?"

"You found the Bad Guy is what happened! I've been staking out for three weeks bored out of my mind without so much as a glimpse and you found them on your first night back, you big oaf!" Then his expression changes and he looks more concerned. "But when you confronted them they got you with whatever made the other victims freak out. You were completely out of it."

Cole raises his hand to look at it, feeling like the simple movement is foreign and heavy. 

"It was in a vial, like a perfume… Did I pass out? I feel like shit."

"Uh, well, sort of?" Kai grimaces, hand going to rub at the back of his neck. "Jay _might_ have electrocuted you a little bit."

"What!?"

"He's been feeling really guilty about it though! He's been in here watching over you and fretting, we just sent him away to sleep a little while ago."

"Wait, how long was I out?"

"Oh, just a couple of hours. Maybe ten? Like, a day, a week at most. No biggie." Kai waves his hand dismissively.

" _What_?" Cole croaks out in panic, struggling to sit up. Kai jumps out of his chair, hands extended in front of him in a calming motion meant to make him settle down again.

"Relax, relax! Dude, I'm just fucking with you, you got back like two hours ago."

Cole falls back onto the pillow, glaring. Kai smiles sheepily.

"Did we at least catch the burglar?" Cole asks with a sigh. Kai starts fidgeting immediately and he knows the answer already before it's spoken.

"Uhm, well, no."

Cole groans and closes his eyes. 

"So we found the thief after literal weeks of stakeout, immediately fell into their trap and got _nothing_ out of it?"

"Not exactly. We now know for sure that they use some kind of airborne substance that is invisible to the naked eye."

"Invisible?" Cole blinks open his eyes slowly, glancing over. "No, no it was visible when she sprayed it. It spread out like a fog, but it was dark. I think it was some sort of _smoke_."

Kai hesitates.

"You sure? It's not just a part of the hallucination?"

"No, no." Cole starts shaking his head, but stop when it feels like his brain is getting battered. "I know when I breathed it in, that's when things changed. It was fine before then."

Kai seems excited about this.

"If what you're saying is true, that would mean we could be much closer to figuring it out. We can work on a way to counteract it and protect ourselves!" He grins, doing a little fist of victory. 

The conversation slows into a comfortable silence after that. Cole is thinking about if he should just let himself fall back asleep when Kai seems to remember another detail.

"Oh, also, _you_ went under the influence. Jay wasn't affected. He literally carried your ass out of there."

Cole blinks slowly, trying to process what he's been told. It takes a bit longer to make sense of the words than it'd normally do, but when he finally understands he frowns.

"Is that even possible?" 

Kai nods happily.

"Oh yeah, princess style and all!"

"N-not _that_!" Cole groans and waves it off, ignoring any heat in his cheeks. "That Jay wasn't affected by it?"

"Oh. I don't know." Kai shrugs. "Do I look like a scientist to you?"

Cole glances up at Kai's wildly gravity-defying hair. Well… A mad one maybe.

Normally he'd say as much, but with the heaviness of his body he's already at the point of exhaustion. He gives in and lets his head fall back onto the pillow, eyes closing to shut out the light.

He sighs.

"I think I'm just gonna… Close my eyes for a little bit."

"Sure thing, big guy. I'm gonna go tell the others you're okay - well, leave a note for when they wake up. Jay is going to be so relieved he didn't give you brain damage."

His lips tug a little upwards with amused disbelief at the thought of Jay's solution being to shock him, the absolute moron. Cole's so gonna kick his ass when he sees him. Maybe he'll be there next time he wakes up.

"'Kay." he mumbles, or at least he thinks he does, already feeling himself slipping back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next time he wakes up Nya is sitting by his bed, reading. He feels much better this time, he can tell right away. His head doesn't feel like it's about to explode and his body doesn't feel so heavy.

"Hey." He greets.

"Hi." If Nya is surprised he's awake she doesn't show it, just closes her book and puts it aside. "Do you want anything to drink? I brought you some water."

"Oh, thanks."

He takes the offered glass and drinks it all in one swoop. Nya is watching him curiously, almost contemplative. It makes him a little embarrassed for some reason. There's so much that has gone unspoken between them. He knows he hasn't exactly been a good friend to her lately.

He sighs.

"Thanks for checking on me. It's nice of you." He tries to quell his conscience.

"I mean, we're on rotation until you're out of bed so I technically didn't have a choice. But you're welcome." She winks at him, a playful smirk on her lips. She acts so unaffected and he doesn't know how to interpret it. Is she pretending she's not hurt?

He tries to mirror her smile, but it feels like it probably looks more like a grimace. Shame crawls up his ribs.

"Also." He has to swallow, trying to clear out the lump in his throat. "I am sorry for this whole thing with Jay. I know he didn't mean to just - well, you know - and he'd never forget about you."

She bites her bottom lip, eyes glazing over like she's deep in thought. It only lasts for a moment though before she shakes her head and grabs his hand on the bed, squeezing it.

"Cole, it's fine. Really."

Cole knows his expression gives away that he doesn't believe her even without it, but her dry laughter confirms it. She shrugs and straightens in her seat, inspecting her nails instead of meeting his gaze.

"Okay, sure, when you got off that boat together and he kissed you right in front of me - I'm not gonna lie, that hurt. I didn't think he'd throw it in my face like that. But I know now that it wasn't on purpose."

She looks back up at Cole's face, breathing out of her nose and let her shoulders relax. Then she smiles and puts her pointer-finger up in front of her mouth. 

"And I'm gonna tell you a secret, okay?" She winks. "Me and Jay broke up like a month before you even left for Namon."

Cole's mind does a record scratch-stop.

"Wait, _what_?"

He must look completely unconvinced, because Nya's hands fall to her knees as she laughs at him. 

"We love each other, of course, but we finally had to admit to ourselves that spark just wasn't there between us. It was a mutual decision. No hurt feelings. We just didn't want it to turn into a thing and have everyone else go tense and weird around us or even try to get us back together before we were even certain. But I think we are by now. I even feel kinda relieved at seeing him happy with someone else."

Cole is lost for words, mouth just hanging open. Nya reaches over with a finger under his chin and closes it. That kickstarts Cole's brain (and mouth) again. 

"I thought you were going to kill me! I thought I was gonna die because you thought I used my hot bod to seduce your boyfriend!"

"Me? But I'm so sweet and nice." She flutters her eyelashes. "Also no offense Cole, I love you, but even if this was all happening naturally I would know it had zero to do with your 'hot bod'. You're a massive prude."

"Wha- Am not!"

Nya just laughs at him instead of responding. Full offense. Her laughter makes him relax though, a weight he had not realized he was carrying dropping from his shoulders.

"Genuinely though. I can't believe you made me think I was _the other woman_ this entire time when you were actually broken up." Cole isn't sure if he is hurt or relieved. It sure feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders though.

"Well, you still kind of were. What kind of friend would hook up with their friend's ex like that, huh?" She jokingly slaps his thigh. "Make no mistake hot stuff, had it not been for the lovebug I would have kicked your ass."

She winks, but he shudders anyway. He got lucky. Still, he smiles back at her, and it's real this time. He is lucky to have her as a friend.

"Glad to hear it."

* * *

By the time Cole is declared well enough to get out of bed and back to business he still hasn't seen Jay around. A nagging worry in his gut says that maybe the bug bite toxin finally left his body, and now he doesn't want to be around Cole anymore. He very stubbornly pushes this worry down. He hasn't done anything worth rejecting him over. Jay doesn't _know_.

Lloyd has called for everyone to meet in the bounty, which in reality just meant the basement.

On its own it's one of the larger rooms in the house, but a big wooden table takes up most of the space. It's one of the few pieces of furniture they had that did not come from a garage sale. Even with all the coffee and mug stains that had appeared with time, it was still holding up. Besides from the table most of the space is filled by cabinets full of case files, radios and computer stuff. It's a bit of an organized mess (If you discount the small pile of dirty laundry that has spilled in from the washroom next door, which is just a normal unorganized mess).

The main feature slash flaw depending on how you looked at it is that there are no windows. No matter how many artificial lights they added, it never really seemed to completely get rid of the dingy semi-darkness. Someone had attempted to paint the cement walls once to make it a little jollier and the whole room ended up looking like a hospital waiting room.

They do have a corkboard with a map of the city pinned on it though. You know, for the aesthetic. 

Jay is already sitting down when Cole arrives. He slides into the empty seat next to Nya, ignoring the urge to look over to see if Jay is watching him.

Lloyd stands up at his designated seat at the end of the table, a small stack of papers in his hands that he taps on the table a couple of times. Behind him is the map of the city.

"Now that everyone's back on their feet, it's time to go over what happened at Black and Blue's confrontation with our Burglar. Wh-"

"They need a better codename." Jay cuts him off immediately, tapping his chin. "What about this - the Exhaust Thief - you know, because of the smokey thing they sprayed us with and because they're a thief. And listen; more commonly known as _E.T_?"

Then he dabs, possibly unironically. Everyone groans. Why did Cole like this guy again..?

"Or The BUTTglar, because we're gonna kick their butt!" Kai still joins in with an objectively even worse alternative, fist-bumping a supportive Jay across the table.

Lloyd groans again, facepalming.

"Guys. We can talk about the name later." He berates. He allows a second for it to sink in, everyone settling back into their seats and muttering their agreements. Then the corner of his lips twitches. "Besides, _The Gas Giant_ is clearly the best name."

This sends several offended gasps around the table, and Cole finally can't stop the smile breaking out on his lips. He snorts, and leans into Nya's side to hide it from view. She just looks equally as amused, elbowing him in the side.

"But she's not even a giant…" Jay mutters under his breath. Lloyd ignores him. The papers he had now thrown on the table is a new witness rapport, statement taken from the latest victim.

"So, 02.34 last Thursday Black and Blue ran into the culprit." Lloyd continues. "They had just stolen about $80 from a student apartment downtown, and Jay was lucky to be in the area. They were not seen approaching the victim nor his apartment, but the victim accidentally broke a window in their delusion, which made the culprit abort their mission. They escaped onto the fire escape, where they advanced to the roof and ran into Black. He identified them as looking to be a woman, wearing a mask over her face of a cartoon alien. They sprayed him with an unknown substance from a small perfume bottle before getting away. This unknown substance is the one behind the hallucinations the victims have reportedly experienced and seems to be a staple in our culprit's methods." Lloyd takes a deep breath. "Any questions?"

"She didn't just "get away"!" Jay objects. "I caught up too, and I almost caught her!"

"What stopped you from catching her?" Zane asks, straight to the point instead of indulging.

Jay blushes, leaning back again in his seat and crosses his arms. His expression would be hard to describe as anything but a 'pout'.

"It wasn't my fault, okay!? She blocked my every hit." He mutters.

"Dude use your powers to knock her out! That's why you got them!" Kai says, hands lighting up in a flashy display when he says the word 'power'.

Jay gasps, deeply offended.

"I can't just throw electricity everywhere _Kai_ , I could accidentally kill someone! What if I hit a dog!"

Cole rolls his eyes at the stupid squabble and decides to break it up before it gets out of hand. Also, there is still one thing that won't stop bugging him no matter how hard he tries to understand it.

"Okay guys, shut up." For once everyone actually listens, turning their heads his way. He takes a second just to let the weight of what he was about to ask sink in before continuing. "I really only have one question; why wasn't Blue affected when she attacked us with that gas?"

Lloyd looks uncertain, looking from the faces of each of his friends to the papers and back, like he's hoping someone else will provide an answer.

"It is… Strange. By all accounts, he should have been. You both had traces of ashes in your lungs after you got home. Black didn't seem to have a higher amount or concentration. The only difference I could think of is he was stung by the lovebug, so his body was already handling one toxin at the moment."

"So what, the lovebug magically overrules the poison gas, rock paper scissor style?" Jay says, skeptical.

Cole is just going to ignore that even Jay just called it a lovebug now. Why was that name so catchy.

Lloyd just shrugs, though it looks to be almost painful to admit he is all out of answers. Zane fidgets a little where he is sitting with his arms crossed, hesitating before speaking.

"It's a bit of a reach, but when I was looking for ways to prepare the tea - looking for a sweetener - I found out that if burned, lovebug-honey is known to be hallucinogenic. It doesn't, however, have the same effects on those who are already affected by the bugs' own venom because of the natural antibodies already present. It... Could very well be similar in composition."

Everyone takes a second to digest what he's said before Nya finally joins the discussion, exasperated.

"Wait, how do we know that lovebug-honey isn't just exactly what they're using? It would fit the description spot on! The delusions, the sweet smell, the ashes. How is it not obvious?"

"Except it only exists on a small remote island that you can only get to by knowing exactly what you're doing." Zane shakes his head. "You need loads of resources for such a trip, resources most people don't have and that definitely isn't covered by breaking into poor college students flats. We likely were the only visitors to make it there in months."

Cole startles and gasps loudly as he remembers. _Oh shit_.

"No we weren't! I saw someone else on the island!"

The others turn to look at him in unison, eyebrows raised. All of them look surprised.

"Wait, what?" Zane furrows his eyebrows. "You never mentioned that. I didn't see anyone."

"I did, I did see a person- I thought it was weird so I tried to get closer to them but the next thing I knew they had vanished into thin air! I forgot about it because I accidentally stepped in the nest of- of, uh-" He suddenly remembers exactly why he didn’t tell anyone.

Everyone is still watching him expectantly.

"Of what?" Lloyd tries to bring him back on track.

"Uh. That part wasn't important actually." Cole clears his throat. "Anyway, I figured I must have imagined it! It didn't make sense to see another person out there, and especially not one that could magically disappear. But I don't know, maybe they had some kind of cloaking device? It makes a lot more sense now looking back!" He is getting excited again. He feels like he just solved the case.

Zane however is looking like he is unsure about how trustworthy Cole's claim is. His arms are crossed but his fingers are tapping rhythmically.

"If they _were_ farming the honey…" Lloyd starts, hesitant.

"It… _Would_ fit our culprit." Zane finishes. He's not looking convinced yet, but more and more onboard by the second.

"Wait a minute now. We just happened to go to the same, super remote island at the same time the bad guys did, and we did this almost completely without seeing them? I'm sorry to rain on your parade but it's just too farfetched for me" Kai objects, shaking his head.

“I’m with Kai on this one. Sorry Cole. It just doesn’t make sense.” Nya agrees.

"Yes, they got a point." Zane sighs, shoulders falling. "We were on the open water for weeks. We could see miles around us. There was no one else around that island."

"But-"

"Even if there was someone else there Cole, what are the chances you would run into just the culprit we're looking for?" Lloyd adds on.

"Not zero!" He protests.

The others give him a look that is almost pitying. He doesn't get it. He was right!

"Well… It's definitely a start." Lloyd says with a sigh. "As for now, we will focus on getting the tea ready as soon as possible and hopefully it will provide us with some clues. In the meantime I suggest everyone get some rest." He then raps his knuckles on the wood two times to make it official. "Dismissed."

Everyone immediately starts to leave. Cole stays where he is, taking a second to breathe. He was still a little woozy after being on bed rest, even if his mind was restless.

Jay slides up next to him. He seems a little bashful and like he wants to get closer, but isn't sure it'd be appreciated.

"Hey. I'm glad you're alright." Jay smiles his sideways smile, looking not unlike a dog that had been caught doing something bad. Cole groans, stretching his still sore muscles. He's in a bad mood now after having his additions ignored. Not to mention, Jay had just so conveniently stayed quiet for once just when he needed the backup.

"Did you HAVE to shock me?" He hisses.

Jay's face falls. Cole immediately starts feeling bad, wishing he could take it back. He wasn't _actually_ angry at Jay. He was just generally upset.

"I-I got scared! I was busy fighting, and you looked like you were preparing to do a bellyflop off the roof! Without your powers to back you up, you would..." He goes quiet, mouth becoming a tight line as his eyes fall to the floor.

"I…" The memory is still a little foggy and didn't make a lot of sense, but it's starting to come together. "Might have been, yeah."

At this confirmation, Jay relaxes, and suddenly he's wrapped himself tightly around Cole in a hug. Cole finds himself responding in turn, hugging just a little too tight for comfort. He's glad they both made it out with no permanent damage. It was so easy after all to forget how little it would take for all this to be gone forever.

"God, it's nice to be able to hug you again." Jay mumbles against his skin. Then he leans back to grab Cole's face with both of his hands. For a moment Cole thinks he's going for a kiss and is about to stop him, but Jay just leans in to put their foreheads together. Cole freeze. Was this the influence of the venom? Should he stop it? Or was he reading too much into it and this closeness were normal for Jay? 

Cole's arms fall back onto Jay's waist. He keeps his breaths shallow, weirdly conscious about every breath he takes and how he's breathing in Jay's air. It’s amazing how quickly Jay can change his mood from bad to warm all over just like this.

Jay's eyes are really nice. His eyelashes are light but long, and they surround his eyes like a golden frame would a masterpiece.

So it's easy to see that Jay's eyes get that twinkle of mischief before he speaks again-

"Besides. I figured since rocks are electrical isolators, your boulder brain would be okay."

Cole splutters, taking a step back in mock offense.

"I think you mean my rock-hard abs!"

Jay laughs.

Then before Cole can react he pokes his fingers into the flesh of his stomach and gives him a small shock. Cole jumps into the air, yelping loudly.

"Nope. Seems not!" Jay laughs even harder, turning away to run out of the room.

"Asshole! I was just gassed, you jerk!" Cole screams after him, but he's smiling. The very last of the paranoid fear that Jay was avoiding him because of something he had done was gone. It had been a dumb worry to start with. Now that he's no longer feeling guilty about the Nya-thing, he actually feels weirdly liberated. He's kinda giggly, feeling like there are soap bubbles hiding in his insides. He keeps staring at the door where Jay had left. He feels ready to burst with it. Not in an I-ate-too-much-cake-and-now-I'm-sick way, but in a good way. One that makes him want to just kinda jump up and down and do a little dance.

He isn't prepared for someone to tap his shoulder.

Thankfully due to all his adoring fans he is used to people begging for his attention, so he only jumps a little into the air with truly minimal screaming before he spins around. Zane is standing behind him, eyes innocently wide and deceivingly innocent. He doesn't acknowledge Cole's scre- uh, manly shout.

"So. How are you and Jay dealing with the lovebug?"

"Oh come on, even you're calling it that now?" Cole whines and rolls his eyes. But the smile quickly finds its way back on his lips, as he can't help but look towards the door Jay had left through. "And, uh, it's fine. It's kind of like normal to be honest, he's not that different. At all. We just hang out. It's been good. I've got it handled."

Zane nods his head, following his gaze.

"I've noticed you've been sleeping in his room."

"Oh, yeah. That just seemed easier you know, with the whole touchy feely-thing and all. He sleeps better if I'm there." Cole shrugs, though his face feels a little hot. 

"Sure. I just want to remind you though that the effects of the sting aren't actually permanent."

Cole's body freeze. His heart sinks, and the bubbles suddenly feel cloying and itchy under his skin. _What was Zane trying to say?_

"I know that." He mutters, eyebrows twitching into a frown.

"Of course. I wouldn't blame you for forgetting though. Just know that Jay will go back to normal, and it would be sad to see your close relationship suffer due to any unrealistic expectations."

"Don't worry," he says with a little too much bite for it to be true. "My expectations are completely realistic."

He turns away and stomps out of there before Zane can get in another word. He's back in the bad mood again and he doesn’t wanna talk to any of his traitor-friends anymore.

So Zane figures out his feelings and now thinks that suddenly Cole can't think rationally anymore? What a dick.

Cole had dealt with this for longer than he knew. He didn't need to be reminded that Jay didn't- That he wasn't-

Cole goes to grab dinner to distract himself. And if he stabs his knife a little harder into his food than he meant to, it's not like anyone would bash their eyelashes at yet another broken dinner plate anyway.

* * *

That night he goes to his own room to sleep and locks the door behind him. When Jay turns up a couple of hours later knocking on the door and calling out his name trying to get in, he pretends he's already asleep.

After a while the knocking stops, and he's left with deafening silence. He doesn't sleep very well that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: So I more or less had the story written, but when I got to this point I realized that the side story had taken up much more time than I had planned and didn't actually fit very well to the main storyline. I feel the story had kind of lost direction and cohesiveness, the thread that's supposed to be the main narrative blurred out.  
> Therefore I will go over the rest of what I have written and probably rewrite a lot of what I have to make it - hopefully - more flowing. This might take a bit longer than I had hoped to finish this fic so I apologize, and hope you'll continue to enjoy the story in the meantime.


	6. Chapter 6

Since he couldn't sleep, Cole gets up early. His time on the treadmill is worse than it's been in months and he gives up long before he normally does. It can barely be considered a workout.

He knows it's not his body that is failing him. He's feeling guilty about last night.

He had been childish by letting himself be so easily manipulated. Jay didn't deserve to be subjected to his mood swings, bug or no-bug. He probably thought Cole was still angry about the mission or about zapping him, neither of which could be further from the truth. They were supposed to have moved past the point in their relationship where they ended up hurt due to stupid miscommunications.

He runs into Kai on his way to breakfast, just as the latter is getting back from patrol. He’s still wearing his suit under the now sloppily zipped hoodie and heading straight for the toast.

“Any new clues?” Cole asks in place of a greeting. Kai nods towards him with a plain piece of toast sticking out of his mouth. He looks to be in a good mood.   
“Nope. Only an attempted robbery. Kicked the guy’s ass and left him outside the police station.”

“Not bad.” Cole gives him an approving fistbump, fetching a piece of bread for himself.   
“Not gonna lie, he was pretty scrawny.” Kai shrugs with a false sense of humility, betrayed by the smirk on his lips. He's energetic after having finally seen some action.

Cole slathers his bread with a layer of sweet strawberry jam. As far as distractions go it wasn't the worst.

He’s just about to eat it when another figure appears in the doorway.

Immediately, he is tense. Seeing Nya out of bed this early meant something was wrong. Her face is pale, almost sickly, as she's alternating between staring unblinkingly at them and her phone. 

"We need to get the others and turn on the TV. Right now."

She then hurries away without another word. Cole stands up to follow immediately. His stomach had tied itself into a knot the second he saw her, awake and with such a look on her face. Kai is right behind him.

  
  


* * *

Jay arrives into the living room just after they've taken their seats. His hair is a mess and he looks tired, but he perks up a little when he sees Cole on the sofa. The light goes out immediately again when he sees that the rest of it is already covered in people, from Nya and Lloyd spread out and Kai hanging over the back. He sits down on the floor instead of taking one of the beanbags. The fact that he did not come stumbling in half asleep and wrapped in a blanket suggests he has not slept much - if at all. Cole feels a stab of shame. The thought to offer up his lap hits him, but also the knowledge that it would cross the line for what was considered normal between them. If Jay had thought of it he might have been able to play it off as indulgence, but Cole offering would mean nothing short of putting his feelings out in the open. Even more unsolicited opinions on his love life from friends were not what he needed right now.

Lloyd fiddles with the remote before passing it to Nya, who swiftly takes them to the right channel. There's a palpable tension in the air as the scene is painted on the screen before them.

The camera is zoomed in on a standard podium, covered in microphones. The only people shown are all standing solemnly in the background, but by the sound of chairs moving around on a linoleum floor and dry coughing every now and then you can deduce there's quite a sizable amount of people hiding on the other side of the camera. No one is talking. The energy in the room seems tense. The big red letters that are scrolling over the bottom part of the screen says  _ Live! _ \-  _ NCPD Press Conference _ .

Cole, who still doesn't know what this is about, glances at Nya. Her jaw is clenched visibly and she's staring unblinkingly at the TV.

Then suddenly a door opens up in the background, and the room seems to perk up with attention as someone approaches the stand. The woman that steps into view is blonde and tall, her posture perfectly straight as she’s taking long confident strides towards the microphone. Her expression is professionally neutral, but the hint of a smirk is visible in the corner of her mouth. She looks like someone who is used to getting what she wants.   
The camera zooms in on her face as she takes the stand.

The banner rolls up with the name SKYE WALKER, NCPD BUDGET DEPT. CHAIRMAN.

She starts speaking with a calm, smooth voice. Everything about her reeks of the arrogance that comes with being born into a position of power.

“First of all, thank you all for coming here today. Normally this scene is reserved for breakthroughs in current investigations, but today I have been given the great opportunity by our Police Department to address the rumors that have circulated recently of the NCPD working on a special weapon. These rumors are true.” She pauses for a second, either letting the words sink in or for dramatic effect. There is the sound and millisecond light of camera flashes going off in the background as she continues. “The talented scientists and engineers at JaRi Industries have with our financial support been developing technological equipment that would allow us to keep up with superpowered offenders. This would open up a whole new world of possibilities for us to provide the public with their greater good.”

An audible intake of breath can be heard through-out the room, which up to that point had been dead quiet. In the living room the situation is similar. No one is saying anything, but the unease in the air is so thick it feels like breathing in molasses. Everyone is staring at the screen like hypnotized.

“These people have held their powers over us normal people for years, doing countless irreparable damage to our city. It's time we use the means given to us to stop them. As you can surely understand I can not yet disclose any details of the equipment, but I can say we have been working on a prototype that would level the playing field between our forces and the so-called “ninjas”, to prioritize putting a stop to their repeated interference in police matters.”

As soon as she out-right mentions 'ninjas', a distressed murmur spreads through the crowd. In the living room, Cole's hand clenches hard enough on the seat than his knuckles turn white. Not that he notices, with how his eyes are now transfixed on the screen.

Skye doesn't seem to let any of the unruliness affect her, just takes a moment for the crowd to settle before speaking up again. 

“I will now allow questions.” She finally says, hint of a smirk on her lips.

Hands immediately shoot up in the crowd and a sea of muddled voices take over for a second before they die off again, someone out of screen chosen to relay their question.

“What do you mean by 'the ninjas'? Are they not on the good side?”

She flicks out her hip, answering the question so confidently she almost looks bored.   
“There is nothing as simple as a Good Side and a Bad Side in real life. This isn't a comic book. The Ninjas are breaking the law. As law enforcers, it’s our job to stop them."

A new reporter is quickly chosen out of the sea of hands, and the questions continue.

“What is your response to the people claiming that this technology is a gateway for the police to use excessive force?”   
“It's crucial to understand that these people are not ordinary like you and me. They don’t need  _ weapons _ to be dangerous individuals. They possess powers that have not been seen since the light and dark ninjas, who almost destroyed our beautiful city once." She looks around the room like a storyteller making sure everyone is caught in the story. "No one knows exactly how powerful these people are or, need I say, what their motives are. Using whatever power we got at hand is not  _ excessive _ , it’s simply caution. It's our prime objective to make sure history does not repeat itself.”

"But aren't the Ninjas just helping to keep the city safe?"

" _ Are they _ ?" Her eyes cut to the reporter that had asked the question, boring into them. "I think it’s time we ask ourselves how well we actually know these so-called heroes. Where did they get their powers? What did it cost to get them? How are they surviving? They sure are not on our payroll, yet they always have the latest technology. How come so many burglaries lately have shown signs of mysterious powers?”

The loudest buzz of voices yet breaks out as everyone seems to have something to say. Someone in front of Cole - Jay, his mind supplies, of course Jay - gasps loudly. One reporter manages to get their voice heard over the others on the tv, but the talking barely dies down.

“Are you suggesting that the  _ ninjas  _ are involved in the recent surge of break-ins?”

“I am not suggesting anything. All I’m saying is we don’t know who these people are or what they are really capable of. Why would we trust them? They have continually refused to show us even their faces. Why would they be doing that if they had nothing to hide?”

People in the background are now talking so loudly you can’t make out what anyone is saying. Only Skye's voice, boasted with a microphone and speakers, can be made out in the chaos.

"For all we like to think of them as on our side, we don't even know they are  _ human _ ." She spits out. Seconds later she’s smiling, soaking up the discourse around her like it’s sustenance.

“ _ Turn it off _ .” 

Jay's voice suddenly cuts through the silence in the living room. His eyes are glued to the floor in front of him and had the others not known his voice so well, it would have been hard to guess he'd just spoken at all. The press conference is still going, journalists once again fighting to be called on. Jay's command sounds deceivingly calm.  _ Cold _ . A spike of anxiety pierces Cole's chest upon hearing it. Everyone starts glancing around at each other but no one moves, so Jay speaks again, louder. “Turn off the TV!”

“We have to…” Loyd tries, but Jay interrupts him by getting up and manually turning off the TV on the console himself.

“Jay!” Lloyd protests, brows furrowed but still looking like a weight falls off his shoulders when it cuts out. He makes no attempt to turn it back on.

“I’m not listening to any more of that crap! She was- Like- She was making us out to be the bad guys!” Jay is angrier than Cole can remember seeing him for a long time. His hands are curled into fists and they're shaking with the effort it takes him not to lash out.

"I am worried about the strengthened efforts to arrest us." Zane is looking troubled, but he is calmer than Jay. "It could interfere with our patrols if they're actively looking for us."

"I am worried that they specified us as the target. If the point was to  _ get better _ at their job they would look to catch up to our efficiency, not take us down." Nya says, sitting back against the seat. Her arms are crossed loosely over her waist and she's tapping her fingers like she's thinking. "This reeks of corruption."

"It's bullshit." Kai agrees. His hands are cutting into the fabric with the strength of his grip. He's angry too, but the kind that comes from having too many negative feelings and no healthy outlet for them. He'll probably be destroying something later. For now he brings out his phone and angrily taps away at the screen as if he's writing something.

"Something is just off about this." Lloyd sounds troubled. His hands are nervously fidgeting and his eyes are flicking around the room unfocused. "Why now? Why her? She's from the budget department, not even a spokesperson."

This seems to kickstart something inside Nya's brain.

“Wait, let me look for her in the database.” She immediately brings out the holoscreen on her watch and starts tapping rapidly. Cole nods, crossing his arms and sliding down on the couch until he reaches peak couch potato. The mood in the room is sour. Nya and Kai are both concentrated on their individual technology. Jay is sitting back on the floor again, legs drawn up under his chin. He is frowning still, hands clenched hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Cole knows him well enough to know that any anger he was showing outwardly was only there to mask genuine hurt.

He kicks gently at Jay's hip to catch his attention and he gets a surprised twitch in response. Jay's head turns to look over his shoulder.

"She's not your secret sister, right?" Cole makes a semi-humorous stab at Jay's name, trying to lighten the mood. "Evil cousin maybe? Wild-spirited aunt?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Jay rolls his eyes as he grumbles, but his expression softens and the smallest hint of a smile reaches his lips before his head turns away. He heard the hidden meaning behind the bad attempt at a joke;  _ 'I'm not upset at you. Don't be sad' _ . His entire body shuffles closer to the couch, using it as a backrest so he can discreetly lean his side against Cole's leg. His cheek fits perfectly against the black ninja's thigh and he lets out a relieved sigh when he's not chased away. 

Cole pretends to look the other way, ignoring the way his heart clenches and his lips tug upwards. At least until Zane joins in;

"Walker is the 28th most common last name in Ninjago. There are approximately five hundred thousand people sharing Jay's last name, most of which are not closely related to him." He crushes their moment by factually explaining, and after a second of processing Cole grimaces.

"Why do you  _ know _ that." He groans, but the question is clearly rhetorical. Zane just shrugs.

Their conversation is interrupted by a shout.

"Holy shit." Kai jumps to his feet, startling the rest of them. "I just googled JaRi Industries, and you could never guess who owns the company!”

He turns his phone their way. On the screen there is a picture of an older white man in a suit, standing straight with an arrogantly confident posture. The caption reads “Jake Richman”.

"It's the politician who called us  _ violent thugs _ !"

A sea of various sounds of disbelief echo around the room.

"No way!" Jay exclaims, getting up from the floor to get closer to the screen. Cole mourns the loss of contact. "Oh just no fucking way! He just so happens to stir up controversy around us right before he announces he makes weapons to hunt us down? This is  _ so _ not an accident! He's trying to throw us under the bus and cash in by selling the bus!"

"It does seem like an awfully convenient coincidence." Lloyd's shoulders are sagging now. "The Government is one thing, but it'd be really bad if the public's opinion of us were tarnished. We'd have to be much more careful to avoid being spotted."

It's a solemn realization.

“It gets even weirder…” Nya’s brows are furrowed and she’s chewing nervously at the string tied to her hoodie. “I found several reports from the NCPD turning down JaRi Industries before. The mails I’ve found make it sound like JaRi is a pretty sketchy company, one that the PD has been very adamant not to get involved with, possibly even trying to take down.”

“And Walker is one of the main backers of these messages. There’s even a  _ published  _ article where she is quoted saying that the NCPD is not interested in financing the development of any products by JaRi, so why…” Her mouth goes taunt. “Could someone be blackmailing her?”

"Should we try to get her to talk?"

"It seems risky after a spiel like that… The last thing we want right now is for someone to get captured." Lloyd answers. He seems unusually downtrodden, voice soft and eyes glued to the floor.

"Stakeout?" Zane suggests, to everyone else's immediate dread.

"Please no. No more stakeouts." Kai pleads. Zane nods.

"We could hack her phone? Maybe we could find evidence of the blackmail." He suggests instead.

"I'd need to get close to her phone. At least in the same room." Nya mumbles, deep in thought.

Silence falls over them, heavy and deafening. It's not a good feeling.

Lloyd finally sighs, a full-body one that makes his chest fall with the heaviness of it.

"There are so many loose threads lately. I wish we could at least tie  _ one _ up and pluck it out of our pile." He says, not sounding like his usual uplifting self. He pauses for a moment, mouth stretching into a thin line. "But for now… I need to brush my teeth. I still have school today, and I’m already late to first period."

He looks like he's prepared to be told off, but no one berates him for his priorities.

Rather several similar phrases are tossed around as the rest of them get up, trying to shake off the bad feelings and get ready for their normal routine days. Cole himself does the same. He got work scheduled in a few hours and he needs to take the bus across town to get there. It's an unfortunately lengthy trip, but the customer paid extra since his earlier help had dropped out last minute.

One after the other they stand up and leave.   
“I’m going back to my breakfast.” Kai mutters while leaving, and Cole goes to join. His poor toast is going to think he abandoned it.

"Cole! Hey!" Jay catches him by the arm before he has time to follow the others out the door and Cole stops his exit midstep. Jay looks happy that he caught him, almost relieved when Cole complies. It reminds him he still hasn't actually apologized for blowing him off yesterday. Letting him lean against his leg is not equivalent to the actual words, he  _ knows _ . The longer he lets it fester, the harder it will be to get them out.

Still - when he tries, it feels like his tongue is tied down with stones. Not a word makes it past his lips.

Jay doesn't appear to notice his struggle. He lets his hand slide down until it finds Cole's. Cole lets him, even as he tread their fingers together and strokes the back of his hand with his thumb. It's not  _ normal-Jay _ , but it's worth it as a weight seems to immediately fall off Jay's shoulders. He smiles, a big toothy grin that makes all the weight on Cole’s shoulders melt off of him and the butterflies inside him come to life in a soft mushy warmth.

Jay leans his cheek on Cole's shoulder in a semi-hug, his nose in the crook of his neck. He inhales deeply through his nostrils and lets it go with a satisfied sigh. 

"I missed you." He says, sincerely. Cole's face feels a little hot. Why isn’t Jay bringing up last night? He had been a bad friend and caused unnecessary suffering just for the sake of his own pride. He should apologize, communicate, clear the air between them. But it's so much easier to just ignore all of that and act like nothing when no one is holding him accountable for it. So much easier to go for the option that feels safe and doesn’t saddle him with personal growth.

"You just saw me yesterday." He tries to joke to hide his awkwardness. He knows he's walking a thin line. Zane's words are playing on repeat in his head, combining with Jay's sad eyes that morning.

Jay just turns to meet his gaze, intense blue eyes boring into his with a sincere tilt of his eyebrows.

"I  _ barely _ saw you yesterday, and every second without you felt like hours spent in a world devoid of color." 

Cole lets out a shuddering breath. Damn, since when was this a poetry reading?

"I got all day free today though! And I heard a rumor the comic store has this really cool new special edition comic about the ninjas, how cool is that! Do you want to go check it out with me?"

"They made a comic about us?" Cole is genuinely surprised, and more than a little curious.

"Allegedly! I can't wait to see how wrong they are about everything!" Jay jumps up and down and punches the air a few times in excitement.

Cole kinda does want to see this comic. He wonders what he's drawn like? Are they going to attempt to draw them without a mask on?

But instead he takes a step back and shakes his head, calming himself before he gets too pumped up about the idea. He already has plans for the day that he couldn't skip even if he wanted to.

"Sorry, I'm actually on my way to work," he excuses.

"Oh." Jay's face falls. Cole feels his own expression follow. It's immediately clear Jay thinks it's an excuse to get away from him and it's hard to argue with that type of conviction. Cole never did like seeing Jay sad.

"Maybe later." He offers, though he himself can hear how fake it sounds to Jay's ears. He is only met with a sort of resigned frustration.

Jay's shoulders sag again as he takes a step back. 

"Okay. Well, see you later then, I guess."

Cole hesitates, but one look at the clock tells him he doesn't have any time to waste if he wants to both take a shower and eat before leaving for the bus.

He tells himself that Jay's kicked puppy-look does nothing to him as he hurries out the door.

* * *

"Did you hear about the ninja?"

The tanned man is holding out a can of soda, and Cole gratefully accepts. He is leaned against the truck for some shadow. It's so hot out today that sweat is already running down his back, despite having only just started.

"What do you mean?" He opens up the can and takes a chug. The other man is doing the same with his own can while he's going over the truck's contents, stuff they have to move as soon as their break is over.

"I heard from a friend who works with the city officials that the police have reclassified them as Dangerous, because of their powers. They are to be considered armed at all times."

"Oh." Cole sips on his drink.

"Yeah. I think we should try to move the couch first, it'll clear up so we can get to everything else." He comes over to stand by Cole in the shadow, wiping his brow with his hand. "If you ask me, it's a load of bull. The ninja are doing their job for them, why the hell are they complaining? As if the police never wrecked shit."

Cole lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, shoulders relaxing.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate your support."

"It's all politics and money. The police want new shiny weapons so what do they do? Say they need them to protect us. What do they need to protect us from? The people that normally protect us! Ridiculous. It's all backward."

"So you don't think people will start trying to turn them in?"

"Some people probably already tried. But nah, most of us won't be fooled."

"I hope you're right. I'd hate to imagine a world without the ninjas. I felt like I could finally imagine a future with them. I didn’t feel that before." He clears his throat, realizing it might sound a bit too incriminating. He is, after all, merely a stranger. “Not that I know them or anything.”   
  
The guy doesn’t seem to think anything of it.

"Exactly! They give life a sense of magic, don't you think? Like a comic book." The guy smiles widely, a spark of childlike glee in his eyes. Then he throws a look over his shoulder and is reminded about the work ahead of them, sighing as he comes back into himself.

"They're just ungrateful. If the ninja wanted to come here and carry all this stuff up to the third floor for me, I wouldn't say no you know?"

Cole laughs out loud this time. If only he knew.

"Now  _ that'd  _ be a sight.”

* * *

He gets home late, muscles sore. Did he have superhuman strength? Yes. Did it help kick bad-guy ass and save people trapped under rubble? Yes. Did it help him carry furniture up a couple of stairs? Somehow, no.  _ Those _ muscles were  _ different _ ones.

God he hates stairs.

He thinks he'll be the only one up, but he's greeted by Lloyd who is sitting alone in the dark living room. It doesn't look like he's been on patrol or is on his way out. He's just sitting there, staring at the dark phone in his hands. If he hadn't spoken Cole probably wouldn't have noticed him.

He looks  grim .

"Hey, are you okay?" Cole asks, walking inside and sitting down on one of the beanbags.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just… A lot on my mind."

Cole nods awkwardly. He's not sure what to say, but he's sure they all have a lot to think about at the moment. He's glad, personally, he no longer has homework to add on top of that. Their leader is not so lucky.

Still, Lloyd studies his face.

"Are  _ you _ okay?"

"Huh? What? Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He blinks in surprise.

"Well, Jay is looking miserable. I figured It probably had to do with you." Lloyd says with a shrug.

Cole's mouth falls open, about to protest, but he closes it again. His heart knocks painfully against his ribs like the desperate, futile beating of a prisoner against the walls of its cell. He had avoided thinking about it for several hours. 

"It's… Yeah." Cole assumes he must look visibly ashamed, because Lloyd keeps looking at him as if he's trying to figure him out.

"Is it the lovebug? Does it bother you that he has feelings for you?" Lloyd asks. He sounds so mature and concerned, a stark contrast to the gleeful kid that had pushed his way into Cole's room to make fun of him when they had just gotten back from Namon. It's this quality in him that had appointed him as their leader. 

"It's not… It's not that I mind the feelings so much. It's the insincerity of it." He admits into the darkness. Lets Lloyd read whatever he wants into it.

"I get it." Lloyd responds to his surprise. When he sees Cole's shocked expression he continues; "He's behaving so normal. If it's not something super obvious like hanging all over you, I couldn't tell you where the real Jay ends and the bug begins. I bet it's hard to have to second guess every interaction."

Cole stays quiet for a moment, going over the words in his head.

"That's actually pretty much spot on…" He eventually mumbles.

"I'm not just a pretty face you know." Lloyd winks and throws up a peace sign. Cole laughs.

"Hope might not yet be lost. One day you might even be a decent fighter!" Cole jokes. Lloyd lets out an offended huff of air and kicks at him.

"Anyway, I think you're making this harder than it actually is. Wanna grab some dinner? I know it's late but I haven't eaten yet." He looks satisfied with this conclusion, already moved onto the next subject. Cole isn't so sure he can let it go as easily.

“Sure, I could eat," he agrees before attempting one last time to open up about this whole thing. "I feel like… There’s no way of winning. If I indulge him, he’s going to wake up and hate me for taking advantage of him. But if I outright reject him, I hurt his feelings over something he can’t actually control and he’ll end up hating me for that too.”

Lloyd blinks up at him with his large eyes. He nods to show he's listening, but once Cole stops talking he only gives it a moment before voicing his own thoughts.

"For what it’s worth, I don’t think he’ll hate you for either of those things. I think it's more like-"

He doesn't get to finish.

There's a crash down the corridor and the slam of a door, followed by rapid thumping footsteps.

Seconds later Jay is spreading out like a starfish in the doorway. The light is sipping in behind him, making his face fall into darkness. His body is heaving like he ran there. For a moment Cole is hit with the paranoid thought that he had heard them talking about him, but then Jay opens his mouth.

“I figured it out.” Jay’s eyes are bright with determination and he's smiling widely, but his hair and clothes are a mess like he had hastily thrown them on. In the dark he's looking somewhat crazy.

"You figured  _ what _ out?" Lloyd asks carefully, looking as confused as Cole is feeling.

"The person Cole saw - what Cole saw - was a picture of the past!"

"What?" They both blink in surprise.

"I saw Cole at the beach!"

"O..kay?" Lloyd starts to discreetly glance towards Cole as if asking him if Jay had gone crazy. Cole notices the looks, but his eyes don't stray from Jay.  _ What had he figured out? _

"Wait. Shit, I need to get the others. I'll get Nya, you guys get Zane and Kai. Meet ya' in the bounty!" Then he's turned around and ran back the way he came.

Cole and Lloyd turn to look at each other, a second passing by where they just sit in confused understanding. Then they slowly stand up and start walking out of the room.

"I get Zane, you get Kai?" Lloyd suggests.

"Sounds good." Cole agrees, already on his way down the hall.

* * *

Jay is already in the basement when the rest of them arrive. Kai is wearing nothing but a bathrobe and his hair is still wet from a hastily interrupted shower.

"So. Will you tell us now why this couldn't wait until tomorrow?" He says, annoyed, as he sits down.

"Because." Jay looks excited. "I figured it out."

He turns around, bringing out a book he had been hiding somewhere on his person.

"What Cole saw- What I saw, I mean, the Cole I saw-" He groans, closing his eyes in concentration and starting over. “When I was alone on the beach of Namon I saw something that looked just like Cole, but it  _ wasn't _ actually him. It looked like I was watching a recording from the day before."

"Yeah." Cole remembers. His arms are crossed over his chest and he taps his fingers distractedly on his elbow. "He mentioned it on the boat. I was talking to Zane in the cabin, but Jay said he saw me at the beach at the same time." Zane nods hesitantly too.

"Exactly! I dismissed it as just me being tired and seeing things, but when Cole said he had seen someone else back on the island I was reminded. It didn't sit right with me how we ended things last time, so I decided to read through the manual we got before we left to look for clues!"

"You didn't read it before?" Zane sounds scandalized. Jay ignores him to continue his tirade like nothing.

"And,” He holds up the book in front of his face, tapping with his finger on a small section in the middle of the page, no longer than that his finger can cover the entire paragraph. “I found out that this tree shrew can change the color and shape of its tail! It does, and I quote, ‘appear to be much proficient in disguising itself both in the greenery and among other species’. That’s it! That’s what we saw!”

Zane takes the book from Jay’s hands, looking closer at the presented page. Lloyd looks over his shoulder, glancing at his face to study his reaction. Zane’s actually looking like he's coming around to the idea. He rubs his chin in thought.

"I have never seen an animal able to disguise themselves as a human, but the fauna of Namon  _ is _ famously unique. Since there’s not a lot of research, it’s not impossible there are things they can do we just don’t know of.”

"So the shrew saw Cole and tried to disguise itself as a human it had  _ previously  _ seen, but when it didn't work it ran away instead - looking to Cole like the person he had seen had just disappeared! In truth, they had never been there at the same time! Which means, they may absolutely have been harvesting the honey to create the hallucinogenic smoke!"

Cole catches himself with his mouth hanging wide open. He had been _right_. Jay had put the puzzle pieces together. He had been right!

He lets out a victorious shout that surprises even himself, jumping to his feet grabbing onto Jay who willingly lets himself be pulled into a hug and spun around in a circle.

“So Cole wasn’t seeing things.” Nya mumbles, ignoring the spectacle. “This might actually be an important clue. What did they look like?” She turns to face him, and the rest follows.

“Uh, I didn’t get a good look at ‘em.” He lets go of Jay who stumbles a little to the side, and scratches his cheek in thought. He's a little embarrassed with the sudden attention. “They were pretty tall, but they had on a hat with a veil so I didn’t see their face clearly.”

“A veil?” Jay repeats. The others blink in surprise. “Like a wedding veil?”   
“Well no, or yes I guess, but it went all around their head, like so.” He tries to show with his hands how the hat had looked on his own head, but nothing seems to click. He tries again to use his words to describe it.

"It was white? Sort of like a hazmat suit but not."

“Wait. Cole.” Lloyd sounds full of disbelief. “Are you seriously describing a beekeepers suit?”   
The eyes of the others widen in realization.

“What? No. Beekeepers don’t have suits.” He laughs at the ridiculous idea. Or he is until he notices that everyone keeps staring at him, and he starts to hesitate. “...Do they?”

Nya facepalms. Even Jay's smile breaks for a second to look momentarily lost for words.

“You couldn’t have started with the beekeeper? It would have made the connection so much more obvious!”

“Well how was I supposed to know you wear a  _ suit _ to keep bees! What are they, bee lawyers?!"   
“It's to avoid being stung! Would you just let them sting you?” She points out.

“Maybe!” He stubbornly argues.

Lloyd breaks up their fighting by laughing out loud. It’s not mean spirited - rather it seems he’s truly happy for the first time in a while. Everyone sort of freezes and looks at him. He just smiles widely back at them.

"It doesn't explain how they found their way there, but it's a good enough explanation for the source of the smoke, knowing that someone was definitely looking recently. Right?" He asks for affirmation. Everyone slowly nods, glancing around at each other to see if they’ve missed anything.

"So that's it then? We figured it out? Case closed, go home?" Kai says, hopeful.

"Well, no. We know they use the honey, but we have no idea or any clues to who they are." Zane shakes his head. But then he too smiles. “But it’s a start. Finally.”

It’s like a flood of long lost energy enters the room, everyone suddenly perking up and excited again to fill out the rest of the puzzle pieces. As they keep talking, Jay turns to Cole. They're still standing up in front of everyone but no one is paying them any attention.

When they lock eyes his eyes soften with fondness and he smiles. Cole's heart skips a beat and he's once again reminded of their situation. Somehow, he knows, this was for him. The quirk of Jay's lips tells him this was Jay's way of asking him to be let back into his heart. 

Jay looks so proud - proud of Cole for his theory being correct, proud of  _ them _ for figuring it out together. It warms Cole's insides with mirror feelings.

And for a moment in time the two of them are the only beings left in existence. There’s nothing but them and the loud, thunderous thumping of his own heart in his ears. His heart which  _ aches  _ to be closer. His fingers which itch with the need to hold. Air that only comes to him in shallow mouthfuls, leaving him lightheaded. The knowledge that Jay didn’t need to be let back in, because he had never for a second left.

He can't breathe with Jay so far away. Every inch suddenly feels like a lifetime, burning in his skin and he starts reaching out-

_ ‘Jay will go back to normal, and it would be sad to see your close relationship suffer due to any unrealistic expectations’ _

He is brought back to reality like being hit with a sudden, icy cold shower. He inhales loudly and physically, causing everyone in the room to turn and look to him. They appear all from surprised to worried, and he doesn't even know what his face must look like to garner such reactions.   
  


"I- I gotta go. Work out." He forces the words out. It feels as if ants are crawling under his skin.

"But you just got back from work. It’s like, midnight." Lloyd blinks. He looks confused.

"The grind never stops!" He chuckles a little bit manically, already on his way towards the door.

He can hear Kai muttering something about explosive diarrhea to the others, but he won’t even deny it right now. He barely catches the way Jay's face falls before he's already sprinted out of the room.

* * *

He punches the sandbag several times straight on, twists and kicks it, then punches it again for good measure. There's little technique to it and more frustration getting the best of him. If that had not been the case, he would not be in here overworking himself. He knows that. 

He usually enjoys spending time working out but this time he just wants to _scream_. (But like, through his fists.) Zane was right. It had been getting harder and harder to not let Jay get to him. The small touches, smiles, flirty remarks and closeness felt as normal to him now as Jay's general presence.

And really, who could blame him? Enough time has passed and Jay is acting almost entirely like his normal self - apart from being a little touchier. The other guys have stopped bothering them too now that the novelty of it has worn off. Like, who even knew if the sting was still in function? It wasn't impossible the venom had already left his body and Cole was pushing him away for no reason.

Speaking of the devil, the door slides open and his head peaks inside before perking up at the sight of the room's sole inhabitant. Of course it wasn’t hard to guess where he’d be. He’d told everyone exactly where he was going, after all.

Jay's eyes slide appreciatively up and down his body as Cole tries his best to ignore the instinctual need to flex and show off. He can still feel the comment coming miles away.

"I must be hotter than I thought, seeing how sweaty you are."

"Mhm." The pick-up lines have gotten bolder as he's getting more used to them. His next few kicks are extra hard, refusing to waver. He can do this. His focus is made of steel. Like, the really strong type, the kind you make space rockets out of or something.

Jay clicks his tongue at his lack of reaction, moving closer to where Cole is punching away. He stays a second and just watches.

"You locked the door last night."

Cole looks down at his hands, momentarily pausing his rhythm. Why  _ now _ ? Why not that morning, when Cole had been prepared and ready to apologize?

"You have your own bed." He mumbles in response, but the guilt is not far below the surface.

"I guess..." Jay looks a little hurt, so Cole pointedly does not look at him and continues his workout.

Jay seems to contemplate something for a moment before creeping in as close as he can without being accidentally kicked in the face. It's a little annoying. Actually, a lot annoying. Cole isn't exactly feeling like working on target practice right now, but he doesn't have much of a choice if he also doesn't want to kick Jay in the face. It works for a minute or two before Jay once again is bored with no reaction and puts his seductive face back on.

"Maybe you should take your clothes off and I can rub you down."

Cole chokes on his spit.

He doubles over, coughing and spitting onto the floor. Jay is immediately there to pat his back and laugh at him.

"Jesus. I can't remember you ever being like this with Nya." Cole complaints, hoarse from the coughing.

"Maybe because it wouldn't be as fun, because Nya isn't such a prude."

"I am not a prude! Why do people keep saying that!?"

Without the adrenaline to keep him standing the tiredness quickly catches up to him and he lets himself just fall into a heap on the floor. Jay joins him. He pushes at Cole's shoulder, making him lean back to lie on his back so Jay can curl himself right up against him. Cole just sighs and shudders when Jay's breath comes in contact with his neck. He's so tired of fighting it when really, everything he wants is at his fingertips. Zane's warning just made that feeling stronger, wrapping around his bones until it would eventually crush his windpipe. Tired, and sweaty, and kinda cold now that he's cooling down. He closes his eyes. The room smells like old sweat and gym shoes, but Jay smells nice and clean. 

"I'm sorry." The words finally find their way out of his mouth, and it feels like a huge weight is lifted off his shoulders. "For yesterday, and for today, and for everything lately. Ever since Namon, it's been- It's been harder than I expected. You mean a lot to me, and this- this is not really you. You know that right? I can't respond the way you want me to, because you don't actually want that."

Jay stays silent while he talks. Seems to ponder the words. His voice is uncharacteristically soft when he finally speaks.

"I know this might feel weird.” His lips press against Cole's neck in a move that feels more innocent than it should be. It's the first time Jay has acknowledged that the relationship he's acting out is not normal to them. Cole wets his lips. What does that  _ mean _ ? Does it even mean anything? Is he overthinking? He was never good with thinking.

"You're my best friend, you know." Jay continues. "I love hanging out with you. You always make me laugh." As if to accentuate this he chuckles quietly, puffs of warm air tickling Cole's skin and making it break out in goosebumps. 

"But it's more than that. You make me feel good about myself. You make me feel capable of things I never would have considered. Even when we fight it's so easy to find my way back to you, because I couldn't imagine a life without you by my side."

Inhale. Exhale.

A moment of silence before-

"Sometimes... I feel like I make you feel that way too."

Cole's body goes cold in fear.

Jay knows about his feelings.  _ For how long? When had he screwed up? _

Cole takes a deep breath, but it doesn't seem to be enough to get past the lump in his throat. His eyes are screwed shut. He's terrified to open them and face what's out there. Breathing no longer seems to come naturally to him, every inhale like a weight is pushing him down. Crushing him. His heart is hammering against his ribs. Is it from the workout or the truth spilled out in Jay's words? He's not sure. He never meant for Jay to know, he never meant to let it get this far.

Suddenly Jay moves even closer, throwing one of his legs over Cole's hips and pulling himself on top so he's leaned over with their noses touching. Cole's eyes fly open in surprise, but he doesn't move. Doesn't dare move.

“ Just relax, think about it. I could be such a good boyfriend to you if you let me. I could be so. So. Good to you."

"Uhh... I... Uhm." He doesn't often find himself at a loss for words, but it seemed to happen a lot more lately. His brain might as well have been replaced by a balloon for all the good it was currently doing. There's nothing in his mind except how Jay's breath is so hot on his face it feels like he's burning. Jay is so close, tauntingly close.

Cole tries to swallow, but his throat is too dry. 

"Jay, I… I don't want to betray your trust." He fumbles over the words.

"You won't. You're not." Jay sounds sure of his words. There's no hesitation.

"You're gonna be mad." Cole frowns and his breath hitches, a last futile effort to stay strong.

Jay whispers his next words right into his ear and effectively shatters all of Cole's defenses.

" _ I won't _ ."

He is so close that Cole can feel every exhale brush against his skin, feather-light touches of air. He feels more than sees the other man following the outline of his jaw with his hand. Guiding his movements until they're nose-to-nose. Cole's eyes close again before he has the time to muse over the action. Something bumps against his nose.

Then lips are on his. At first just a peck, a soft touch. Light enough he could convince himself it never happened if he wanted to. Then they're back, putting in more pressure and moving against his.

He knows he shouldn't. He  _ know _ s. But he responds. He pushes back against the other's lips and kisses back. His arms move from where they were lying helplessly next to his body to grab at Jay's face, moving to the back of his head and letting his fingers run through soft curls. Jay makes an appreciative sound in the back of his throat and lets his own hands explore what he can reach. It spurs him on, and one of his hands falls down to follow the outline of Jay's spine, mapping every bump. His waist is so attractively small, a nice slope that feels comfortable beneath his palms. He can feel how Jay shudders and his heartbeat speeds up.

He isn't sure what it is that triggers it but he flips them over, Jay falling onto his back with a small huff of surprise. He doesn't wait for any of Jay's wisecracks, just attacks him again with his mouth. Judging by the pleased hum in the back of Jay's throat he isn't complaining. 

Cole can't get enough of the taste, of the smell, of the sounds and the  _ feeling _ that is Jay. He feels as if he's ready to burst with it, but he just wants more and more and more. He wants whatever Jay will give him. He wants everything.

Jay was right, who was Cole to tell him what he was feeling anyway? Jay could make his own decisions. He and Nya were broken up. Why was he even holding back? He did want this. He wanted it so badly he could feel it in his bones. It felt right. Every new touch ignited a fire inside him that burned warmer, stronger, more passionately. If this is what Icarus felt for the sun, Cole understands why he pushed himself closer,  _ closer _ even as the feathers melted from his skin.

The sound of the door opening snaps him out of it. Lloyd steps inside, but seems mostly disinterested in what's going on.

“Hey, stop wrestling, we’re having dinner in five.”

Then he turns and leaves, completely oblivious. It takes them a second just to stop staring at the door in shock.

Jay looks from Cole to the door, then back at Cole again as if to ask "did that really just happen?".

His lips are red and a little swollen, and his hair is completely messed up. His t-shirt hangs crookedly on his frame, like it was just a small step away from being discarded completely. He's breathing heavily. Cole licks his own lips self consciously, knowing he's probably in a similar state. Jay looks absolutely wrecked.

Something weird bubbles up in him, and he starts laughing. It's something warm and gooey in the back of his chest, like he's full of hot fudge. This time he lets it take over.

* * *

He still goes back to his room to sleep after eating a healthy portion of Lloyd's home-cooked (with love) spaghetti, but he doesn't lock the door this time. He gets ready for bed and lies down. Then he waits with bated breath, not a hint of sleepiness as he stares into the dark for what feels like hours. (So realistically speaking, five minutes top).

He finally hears the door open and his heart flutters. Jay seems as relieved at not being locked out as Cole is that he came when he tiptoes across the room in a few long strides. His cold fingertips slide under Cole's shirt, embracing him as he leans in to kiss his neck. Cole can't stop the moan he lets out, and Jay, encouraged, presses himself closer and tangles their legs together.

Cole has to mentally kick himself into action not to get carried away. He takes Jay's hand, moving it away from his lower back and back to Jay.

“ If you want to stay here you can, but until every trace of venom is for sure gone it's just to sleep.  _ Sleep _ .”

Jay sighs dramatically, throwing himself back on the bed with his arms crossed and a pout that would be funny in another situation. Cole still can't help the way the corner of his mouth twitches at the sight. Maybe against his better judgment still he leans in and he kisses Jay, just a soft chaste touch of lips that nonetheless makes his heart soar.

Jay looks surprised, turning his head to stare at his bed mate. Then a smile cracks through, and its softness lights up Jay's entire face as his eyes go so full of love and admiration.

Jay's voice is soft and warm.

“ I love you.”

Cole's chest feels warm and he knows he is smiling. He leans forward until their foreheads are touching. Though the words don't quite reach his mouth, they echo inside his head until he falls asleep;

_ "I love you too." _

* * *

Cole is woken up in the morning by Jay getting out of bed, trying and failing to be stealthy. Not really awake but vaguely aware something's going on he makes a questioning sound in the back of his throat, causing Jay's head to snap towards him.

"I am so. So. Sorry." Then he books it out of there before Cole even has had the chance to process his words. The sun is starting to rise outside and the room is still mostly dark. His alarm hasn't even rung yet, and he was pretty good at getting in that early hour workout. Something nags in the back of his head as he knows Jay usually isn't awake at this hour, but not fully awake he can't quite piece the puzzle pieces together. For now though, Cole just let his head fall back onto the pillow and goes back to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Cole's woken up a second time some hours later by a sharp knock on the door. Lloyd's head peeks through the gap in the doorway just enough for Cole to see him from where he's still well nested under his blanket. 

"Hey," he greets, "We've finally prepared the tea from the timeless dewdrop, you joining?"

"Mm, yeah, sure. Gimme a second." Cole starts crawling out of bed, grabbing his phone from where it had fallen on the floor during the night. Checking the time validates his suspicion that he's overslept. He always wakes up early by nature after making it a routine to work out in the mornings, so it is disorienting to see that it's almost noon.

He remembers Jay waking up earlier and getting out of bed. Something must be on his mind, since Jay getting up before him was virtually unheard of.

He freezes in his motion putting on a clean shirt, flushing. Right.

Cole had... Given him something to think about.

Last night had been… Well, better than he could have ever imagined. Jay had known about his feelings without acting strange. He had argued for their sake. He had seemed so sober when he told Cole he loved him.

His heart skips at the memory. Maybe he could have this happiness, after all. It was a good feeling.

* * *

They all meet up in the bounty, where the table is pushed against the wall to make room for a ring of large cushions.

Wu is standing in the middle, shooting a disapproving look at Cole's unkempt state when he walks in, before speaking up.

"Now that everyone is  _ awake _ we can begin." He gestures to Zane, who starts pouring tea from a nice looking kettle into five teacups. Cole slides into the open seat, just a little ashamed at the jab. He's in too good of a mood to let it affect him.

"Zane already prepared the tea a while ago, so all you need to do is drink it. The only instructions are that you must drink it quickly, or the visions might be foggy." Lloyd summarises for him in what's not-quite-a-whisper. Cole nods along to show he's paying attention, though the truth is he finds it hard to care.

Instead, his focus is swallowed up by the tea itself. Cole isn't sure where they even found five matching cups, considering most of their kitchen utensils were a great mismatch of what had at one point been full sets but had shortly been reduced to a single plate or fork due to action-packed life-or-death situations, such as food fights.

Wu continues his spiel.

"For a minute, time will become nonlinear and you'll see your future. Remember, the tea will only show you parts that the future you remember vividly. That's why it's important you focus hard on your  _ duties _ as ninjas! If you get distracted, you will see unrelated things. Focus!"

The porcelain clinks against one another as the liquid fills up and it's only accented by the tense silence in the room.

Cole glances around, his friends collected in a circle making it obvious one seat is still empty.

"Where's Jay?"

Cole ignores the knowing, wary look Zane sends his way. It's totally valid of him to ask about the whereabouts of his friend. Or maybe more-than-friend, who knows? Not Zane anyway.

Wu doesn't seem troubled by his question, just answers that Jay had left early for work and couldn't join them. There is a second of  _ something _ where a crease appears between his eyebrows but it is swiftly smoothed out.

That explains why Jay had been awake so early, Cole figures. It's a little strange though. Jay had always worked afternoons. Must be a busy day at the shop.

They each grab a cup. The drink smells vaguely flowery, but with the sickly sweet undertone of rotten fruit. The hesitance to drink is thick enough to cut through. Kai is the one that finally breaks it.

"Ah, well. Bottoms up." He raises the cup in a salute, clamps his fingers over his nose and downs it all in one go. The others immediately start following his example and downs their own cups.

Cole is the most hesitant. He had ignored the feeling until now, so caught up in the thrill of having something to do, but he isn't sure he even  _ wants _ to know the future. He had seen the movies - it never brought with it anything good. Not to mention... He can't keep his mind clear of Jay. It feels like something inside him, some crucial part of machinery that had been stuck for so long had finally dislodged. Everything felt smoother. Everything felt  _ good _ .

Every part of him tingled with the  _ lack _ of Jay, impossible to forget.

Wu is observing them quietly from the middle of the circle still, his hands folded behind his back. When he reaches Cole he raises an eyebrow questioningly.

It's enough to make Cole snap out of his head and look around. Seeing the others all finishing their drinks he finally gives in, and downs the hot liquid before he has the chance to change his mind.

At first, he doesn't think it's working. The tea burns going down and his tongue feel numb, but he isn't feeling anything out of the ordinary.

Then suddenly it feels as if he is being pulled backward and out of his body. The visions are coming down rapid-fire and before he has the time to process what's going on they've already changed.

_ He raises his hand - a ring around his finger catches in the sun. _

_ He's grabbing the wall of a building and the concrete moves under his fingers, melting and fitting to his hand. _

_ Nya accidentally spits a noodle at her brother who shrieks in disgust. _

_ He kicks a boulder at a fleeing someone. They turn around and catch it midair in their gloved hand. _

_ Zane taps the ground, immediately creating a beautiful frosty landscape. _

_ The sky at twilight is painted in red and purple. There's wind in his ears. _

_ A couple of dice spin slowly on its side before landing on a perfect 12. _

_ He stumbles, the ground opening up beneath him. _

_ Jay is wearing a silly cowboy hat and spins around in a circle, laughing, and- _

_ Jay stares at him in shock. _

_ Jay is looking at something outside the window and the sunlight makes his eyes glow. _

_ Jay- _

_ Jay- _

_ Jay turns to him, wobbly smile exposed by glossy eyes. Then his smile falls, and tears begin to roll down his cheeks. _

He snaps back with an inhale.

Lloyd and Kai are watching him curiously.

"Dude that sounded like you were gonna has a panic attack! What did you see?"

"..."

Too much, he wants to say. Not enough, he thinks. He says nothing, opting instead to stare blankly at the floor.

"I'm not even sure what I saw." Nya answers in his place, sounding confused.

Wu has moved from the circle to sit quietly on one of the chairs instead, leaning heavily on his cane. His old eyes look tired but no less analyzing as they dart around the room. It's nerve-wracking sometimes, having him there. He's constantly suspicious of everyone and it makes Cole all too conscious of himself.  _ Especially _ when he's silent. He has his reasons for being like that, but still.

Lloyd takes initiative by pushing a piece of paper and a pencil into Nya's hands.

"It's pretty vague. However, Wu and I believe if all of us write down what we saw and compare notes, it's bound to give us some clues we can use!"

"Uhh, not... Everything we saw right? I mean, it doesn't seem very... Relevant." Kai questions, flush bright on his cheeks giving away his real reasons. Wu sends him a disapproving look but Lloyd acts none-the-wiser.

"We can't know that unless we study and compare our notes. Any little detail could be a clue!" He quips preppily.

Cole doesn't acknowledge the speech. He does however reach for his own pen and paper and start writing down what he had seen, trying to add whatever details he could remember.

Pretending his hand isn't shaking.

Kai hesitates the longest, looking at everyone else before he starts writing too.

Cole already knows he won't mention the last part. The one with Jay's hurt face that's burned into his retinas, reminding him with a painful stab to his heart that he hadn't seen the other man since last night.

No, that's not right. Since that morning, when Jay had woken up before him and left.

Since… Since he had  _ apologized _ .

Cole's heart sinks like a stone. He can only think of one thing Jay would have apologized for - he's back to normal. Which means he wasn't yesterday, when-

"Okay, you got it all down?" Lloyd seems hopeful. He collects Nya and Cole's papers and then he picks Kai's paper out of his hands before he can start refusing. Zane readily hands his over.

Nya glances at the writings over his shoulder as Lloyd flips through the stack. She isn't convinced by their meager content, if the look on her face is anything to go by.

"I don't think this will give us anything. Maybe we should try another cup?" She suggests.

"I would not recommend that." Zane shakes his head."The scroll suggests waiting at least 14 days between each use of the dewdrop."

"Okay, but like, how bad can it be?" Kai seems unconvinced. "It's just memories, it's not like it will change the entire flow of time."

"The scroll doesn't specify what will happen. However, we should not mess with it." Zane stands by his opinion, crossing his arms.

"Zane is right." Wu joins in in a tone that makes it clear that his word is final. "Messing with the unknown is never a good idea."

Nya sighs loudly, accepting defeat. She lets herself fall back from her seated position to lying on her back on the floor, arms crossed and eyes closed.

"I really hoped this would give us another clue. It was too much to ask of the universe, I guess."

Cole waits inside his room, pacing back and forth for hours. He tries to read, play a game,  _ eat _ , but his mind keeps drifting and he can't focus. He even tries to clean just to do something, but it goes just as badly. There's a big black hole in his chest that swallows up everything.

He's trying to be rational. He saw many future memories of Jay, which meant he wasn't going to lose him. That's good. That's a great start. The- the vision of Jay's crushed face could be about anything. Who knows what they will face in the future? Fire-breathing pandas or alien invasions or head lice infestations - the possibilities were endless!

_ Everything _ that happened between them can't be explained away by the love bug, right? Yesterday was different. It had meant something more, he knew it had. Those things Jay had said-  _ and he had known Cole's favourite cake!  _ How could you explain that if there hadn't been something there before?

The fact that Jay had run out didn't have to mean anything. He had work to get to. It's normal to hurry. He was probably just late. It's all a misunderstanding.

_ Deep breaths. _

He hears it immediately when Jay gets home. The front door closes loudly enough to be heard throughout the house. It's a feature meant to warn them of possible intruders that most house-owners would consider an annoying flaw.

With his ear pressed to the door he can hear Jay stop and talk to Kai in the kitchen. It might be time for dinner soon, Cole hasn't been keeping track of the time. The voices go quiet and Jay is moving again. Cole is hit with the realization that Jay is walking towards him and he scrabbles away from the door in panicked embarrassment, trying to look casual. But instead of the knocks he expects to come, the sound of footsteps continues down the hallway, where a door is opened and closed as he enters his own room.

Oh.

Cole has to swallow around the lump in his throat again, trying to take deep breaths. He's feeling all the more awkward after that mistake, despite no one else knowing about it happening. It takes several minutes of mental pep-talk before he's worked up the courage to leave his bedroom.

Going to Jay's room is just a habit by now. His feet have led him there before he even notices what's happening. It's not until he's already at the door he realizes he didn't think of what to say.

He knocks anyway. They just need to talk it out. Everything will be fine once they've talked. They can go back to being best-friends-maybe-something-more, comfortable in their knowledge that there's no exotic insect manipulating either of them.

The door opens up, and Jay is finally in front of him again for the first time today. Cole lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, finally relaxing.

Jay looks caught off guard, but he's not avoiding eye contact. He's still in his work clothes - oily stains all over his shirt and bangs tied up with a rubber band. It looks a little silly. It's a good look on him.

"Hi man." Cole greets, smiling nervously.

Jay startles at the sound of his voice, and like a spell being broken his eyes snap away from Cole to dart around just about anywhere else.

"Hey." Jay fidgets, clearly wishing he could get away. The lump of anxiety makes sure Cole's aware it has settled down nicely in his chest.

"Haven't seen you around today. You good?" he does his best to ignore it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yup, no I'm peachy. Great!"

The silence that follows is chokingly awkward. Jay still won't meet his eyes, yet Cole can't look away from his face. Searching for any sign.

"So do you wanna like..." He grimaces, the words thick and clumsy on his tongue. "Talk about it?"

Jay groans. Long and drawn out, face hidden-type of anguish. He backs up until his back is leaned against the wall, hands tugging at his hair.

"I can't believe I did all that to you. I'm so sorry." he says, voice shaking.

"You don't need to be sorry. I didn't mind."

Cole reaches towards him, but Jay flinches away from his touch like he's been hit.

Oh.

Cole retracts his hand, standing back up and stuffing it in his pocket.

"It's fine, you know, whatever." Cole mutters softly while looking away. He is trying very hard to sound like he doesn't care, like his heart isn’t breaking. In his pocket, his hand is clenched so hard the nails leave red bruises on his palm. He's afraid if he looks back up he will not be able to hold it in. "Let's just drop it and forget it ever happened."

Jay just whimpers without looking up.

Cole turns around and leaves before the stinging in his eyes gets the best of him.

* * *

It's a fine line between taking some time for yourself to heal and ignoring everything and everyone around you. Cole takes to that line like a pendulum.

So he spends the next couple of days locked inside his room with a tub or five of ice cream, definitely not sulking. He does go out for patrol, but since the press conference they've been holding a low profile. They take extra care not to be seen and only interact with people when they really need to. The police radio has been mostly silent so he's just been walking around, randomly checking different spots around town. He's not sure what the others have been doing. Any time not spent as a ninja is spent cuddled up alone under five blankets and the trusty company of netflix.

Whenever one of his friends comes knocking he avoids them. He just wants to be alone with his romcoms right now, so what.  _ Give him a break _ . He wasn't neglecting his work or anything.

He had tried to act normal to start with, he really had, but when he had gone to get dinner in the kitchen Jay had been there. When he saw Cole he had just dropped his half-finished plate in the trash and ran out without a word. Cole didn't feel much interest in pretending then either.

The hardest part is that he had known this was going to happen. He had told himself from the start;  _ don't you even think about going down that road _ . Getting his hopes up would just mean it hurt worse when they were crushed and then things would change between him and Jay and he'd lose his best friend. Lo and behold, he had been right (as usual).

Their other friends are not beyond noticing something wrong either.

Nya tries to ask him to work out with her. Zane messages him asking for company while he goes shopping. Lloyd asks for help with his history homework. Kai forgoes all pretense and tries to bribe him with cheetos. He rejects all of them. Jay is the only one that doesn't show.

He dont think they know exactly what happened, but they can probably guess. Living together with his closest friends has always been a huge advantage (their bad habits aside). Now he's starting to have doubts. Their knowing stares and too-nice gestures remind him at every turn of the situation he's put himself in. It's like he can't get away.

He  _ also _ understands he should probably stop it with the pity party and just get out of the house for a bit if he wants to get his mind off Jay. It's just hard when all your friends are the same people you're trying to avoid! He's been trying to schedule some extra work hours but it's been a slow progress.

He's halfway through his third rerun of The Notebook in as many days when he picks up his phone again to check.

He clicks open a new tab in his browser and writes in craigslist. The pay wasn't that important right now, he's ready to help out whoever needs it if it meant a few hours away.

On their way to  _ help wanted _ his eyes fall upon the "Housing" list and stick there. It hurts him that he's even considering it, yet he clicks the link open. He doesn't have a lot of money saved up and to make up for it he'd have to pick up a more regular work schedule, which meant doing less ninja work. Normally he'd say it was a terrible idea. But right now, just for a little while it'd be good for him to get away. It could be what he needed to get over Jay and mend their relationship.

He scrolls down the page slowly, taking in the ads haphazardly while simultaneously watching the movie. Sometimes he says the quotes out loud, acting out the scenes with himself as every character at the same time as the tv. Sometimes his bucket of half-melted ice cream makes a cameo as his lover. It's almost enough to distract.

When the hurt gets too overwhelming he goes back to his phone. He randomly clicks on an ad hoping for the best. The page loads slowly. At first he isn't sure what he's looking at.

Then his eyes widen.

* * *

**_GROUP CHAT: THE HOMEBOYS_ **

_ message sent 11:52 _ _   
_ _ black: "Emergency Meeting. Right now!"  _

After days spent inside his dark bedroom, stepping outside is so bright he almost instinctively covers his eyes with his hand. Instead he just continues down the hallway with a single-minded focus. He doesn't care to look in the mirror before leaving.

Lloyd is already at the bounty when Cole gets there. He's looking worried, arms crossed and youthful face wrinkled in concern. When he sees Cole he immediately straightens up.

"Cole! What's going on? What happened?"

Cole grins, putting his laptop down on the table.

"I found something," he says without giving it away. Lloyd goes from worried to excited right away, pupils widening with curiosity.

"You found a clue?"

Before he can explain, someone speaks up behind his back.

" _ What's happening _ ?"

Cole freezes at the new voice in the room. He slowly glances over his shoulder, not responding to the question.

Jay is standing in the doorway. He's looking good, like he's actually showered and put on something other than pyjamas this morning. Cole tugs at his own snot covered sleeve. Whatever.

His mouth feels dry and he almost forgets what point he was even trying to make.  _ What was the question again? _ Thankfully he's relieved of having to answer, because Kai and Nya barge in and push Jay along to take their own seats. Zane appears just a moment later.

"I apologize for the delay. I was washing the dishes," he explains, though no one is berating him.

Cole just waves his hand, waiting for everyone to sit down before continuing.

"I found something that could turn this case around."

He smiles a crooked smile as everyone's eyebrows rise in surprise, enjoying the drama of it all.

"Look."

Cole turns his laptop their way with a dramatic slow spin. If only he had some background music he’d have looked totally badass.

The others stare silently at the screen without showing any kind of reaction. At first he thinks they’re blown away, but when they still don’t react a couple of moments later he almost starts to question if he's been wrong. Then Nya slowly raises one eyebrow.

"Why is the latest thing in your google search history 'how many raccoons can fit in a butt'?

"That's- That was a- Don't look at my history!" Cole leans over the laptop, seeing that it's indeed an upside down google page instead of the craigslist ad he meant to show.

"I wasn't  _ looking _ , it's right there!" She protests. Kai snickers while the rest is just looking confused.

Cole makes a noise of frustration, standing back up and spinning his laptop back to change it to the right page before showing it to his friends again.

"Craigslist..?" Lloyd questions out loud.

Cole nods and points to the open ad - "Looking for a roommate in the NC-area".

"Wait." Lloyds eyes light up in realization. "That's the apartment from the last hit."

He immediately holds up his wrist, clicking at the screen of his holowatch until he finds the rapport from the latest burglary. In it, there are several high-resolution photos from the inside of the apartment. Holding them up side by side, it's obvious it's the same place.

"And it's not the only one - I compared with the files, and they're  _ all _ here! Some of the ads are cross-posted to other sites but they're all online." Cole proudly explains as the others are taking in the new information.

Jay grabs the laptop, pulling it towards himself and angling the screen to see better. Cole can't help but notice how the little icon in the corner that tells you the laptop is charging pops up. Damn him, that's adorable.

"How can we NOT have noticed this." Jay sounds bewildered. "It's so obvious. It was right under our noses."

Lloyd looks away from the screen and meets his eyes, smiling.

"Good job Cole. This is phenomenal!"

"Psh. It's no big deal," he says, rolling his eyes nonchalantly even as pride reddens his cheeks. He's smiling too.

"So what do we do now?” Kai questions. Then, hesitantly; “Wait for a new ad and stake out?"

Everyone except Lloyd and Zane grimaces at the mention of more stake outs. Lloyd only barely holds it together, though.

" _ Or _ we write an ad ourselves. Set up a trap." Jay counters, and the room breathes out in relief.

"Great idea Jay! I say we go with that one." Kai slaps his hand on Jay's back a little too enthusiastically. 

"I will look into getting a short time lease," Zane says while writing down something. "If we use our contacts outside of ninja-work we can make it a discreet trap, but we have to be very careful so that our real identities can't be tied to the ninjas."

"That sounds risky." Lloyd looks less than pleased with the plan, lips pressed into a tight line. 

"It is," Zane agrees, "but it's the least dangerous course of action I can think of. Unless any of you have a better idea?"

Nya fidgets a little, like there's something she wants to say but doesn't know how to.

"We  _ could _ try the tea again-" she starts.

"It's still too soon." Zane immediately cuts her off.

"Oh come on!” She makes a loud noise of frustration. “We can't wait forever just based on one guys vague diary entries! Time is ticking away and we're no closer to catching anyone!"

Zane just crosses his arms and huffs.

"I will not take any responsibility if you get nightmares."

Nya looks a little taken aback at that.

"Why would I get  _ nightmares _ ?"

"We don't know what will happen if we mess with the instructions. It could be dangerous."

Her eye twitches dangerously.

"It can't be  _ that _ dangerous, or they wouldn't have been able to write it down afterwards at all…" she adds, sarcastically.

"Maybe it's more of a metaphor, like, 'knowing too much about your future you will doom yourself trying to stop it from happening'-kind of way?"

"Like in the movies…" Cole mutters. The thought  _ had _ hit him.

Zane still isn't convinced. He crosses his arms and pouts. Technically, he is outnumbered. But if they did give in and it turned out it was a bad idea they'd have to deal with the consequences of going against his recommendation - namely, Zane looking disappointed in them. Cole shudders at the mere thought of it.

* * *

Nya catches him in the doorway before he can leave. So caught up in the euphoria of finding an important key to unlocking the case, he had momentarily forgotten about his self-inflicted isolation. Nya did not look like she was planning on letting it go that easy.

"Hey. Are you okay?" She asks softly. The effect is somewhat dampened by the sturdy grip she got around his wrist.

"Of course." He lies. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you look like shit, Cole. When was the last time you showered?'

Cole winces.  _ Ouch _ . He didn't realize it was  _ that _ bad. She leans in a little closer, looking sympathetic.

"Is this about Jay?" She asks so quietly he wouldn't have heard her had she not been so close.

He doesn't answer, but apparently she doesn't need him to. She continues, only slightly louder than before.

"He will come around, Cole. You're his best friend. He loves you, he's just embarrassed. You know how he can be."

It takes him a while to respond, but she isn't letting him go.

"I guess." He finally answers. Maybe she's right. Maybe she just doesn't know the extent of how bad he messed up.

She pulls him in for a tight hug, not giving a damn about how gross he must smell right now. He hugs her back. It's warm and comfortable, the kind of hug that makes you feel loved. Nya always had been someone truly extraordinary. Despite it all, his affection for her makes his chest feel lighter than it's been in days.

He only breaks away once the skin on the back of his neck starts prickling with the unmistakable feeling of being watched. His head snaps up, and Nya follows his gaze into the corridor.

Jay is outright staring at them. As soon as he realizes he's been caught he spins around and hurries the other way without a word.

Nya sighs and cocks her hip in annoyance.

"Actually, forget anything nice I said about him. If he's getting jealous again I  _ will _ kick his ass. I am not going through that whole fiasco again."

Cole chuckles.

Nya was right. Who was he to pine over  _ Jay _ ? The guy who blew up four toasters in less than a month? He could get over it. He was the powerful, famous Black Ninja.

Jay wasn't even that great of a kisser. His stubble was scratchy.

Yeah. He could do this. Things would be back to normal in no time.

* * *

He's just putting on track pants when there is a weirdly quiet tapping on his door. At first he thinks he must have imagined it, but then it comes again just slightly stronger and he recognizes it as knocking.

"Uh. Come in?" He says out loud, confused.

The door opens just a sliver and Kai's head peeks inside with a conspiratorial smile in place.

"Psst!" he stage-whispers, "We're going to sneak another cup of tea."

Then he's stumbling inside, Nya and Lloyd pushing their way behind him and shutting the door.

"Kai, don't make it sound like we're sneaking around. That's not true." Lloyd says, now in a normal speaking voice, despite the words being completely at odds with the way he had acted a minute earlier. He had crossed his arms as he spoke and now he is clearly attempting to appear mature and reasonable.

A curtain flutters behind him and he jumps into the air before realizing it's just the draft.

"...Theoretically not true," he clears his throat. His cheeks are a little pink.

"Yeah yeah, Zane is stuck on waiting sixty-nine days or whatever." Kai waves his hand in the air in front of him, slinging an arm over Lloyd's shoulder. "We're taking another cup, and this time we're getting some real stuff! Like strategies."

"Are you in?" Nya, who had been quiet up to that point, looks hopefully up at Cole. 

Cole, who immediately is greeted by the mental image of Jay's distraught face again.

"Eh, no thanks. I'm meeting with Zane in fifteen, so…" He trails off.

Nya nods.

"Tell us if you change your mind."

Then they're already gone again. Cole just shakes his head to himself. Maybe they will find out something important. He just hopes they don't explode or something while finding it out.

* * *

He's carried a lot of shit up a lot of stairs at his daytime work, but this is the first time he's had to do it for - technically - ninja business.

The apartment comes pre-furnished, all they have to do is put up the cameras. Only the cameras need to be  _ hidden _ , and have enough memory on them to record all hours, but not be traceable by electronic devices which all means he's carrying a bigass wardrobe up two flights of stairs so they can put up the tiny cameras inside it. 

Usually recordings aren't even needed because people will readily step forward as witnesses, but after having their own motives thrown into question and witnesses getting drugged the evidence this time needs to be fool-proof.

Securing the place costs them three months of rent, but at least the owner allows them to pay in cash. Zane is the one handling the transaction, which means he can't join the action as a ninja without the risk of exposing his identity. Instead, he's going to pretend to live in the flat like he's just a regular person who could use a new roommate to help pay the bills. He's unlikely to be affected by the gas so he had volunteered as the safest option for playing the part. He could also signal the others immediately through remote wifi without rousing any suspicion even if he was being watched. With such advantages it's hard for Cole to argue, at least without admitting he had actually  _ wanted _ to move out. 

The place is chosen carefully. Its located just on the side of town where a break-in would be unusual, but not enough that people would have security installed. The flat is located on the fifth story of the building with no elevator, but is easy to get to using the fire escape, making it a rational entry and exit-point. There are no easily accessed alleyways or streets where someone could disappear out of view once they're out.

It takes them longer than anticipated but they get it done and set up before nightfall. A camera is monitoring every window in the apartment as well as the front door, connected by discreet cables to the hidden memory bank in the back of the wardrobe. If anyone was going to break in, at least one camera would get a good look at them. 

Finally being done, Cole allows himself to throw himself onto the couch and relax. Even the rough fabric feels heavenly soft after a couple of hours of hard work. Zane follows his example and sits down next to him. There's still a few minutes before they're needed anywhere.

"Thanks for all the help. It would have been quite impossible to do this on my own." he admits sincerely.

"No problem, man. That's what friends are for." Cole just waves his hand to show it's no big deal, eyes still closed.

Zane studies him silently for a few moments.

"I'm sorry for what happened with Jay, Cole." It's straight-to-the-point, but there's a real sense of loss behind the words. Cole's heart tugs, and he opens his eyes and sighs. A moment of silence passes before he continues.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He shakes his head softly. He can tell the way his voice starts to sound breakable. "I should have listened to you. You were right all along."

"That doesn't mean I wanted to be." Zane's eyes fall to his lap, looking pained. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this. I think Jay lately, he seemed-" It's one of the few times Cole has ever seen Zane struggle with his words. "He looked very  _ happy  _ with you. Less… Constrained."

"I guess that's an effect on the bug."

"...Maybe."

Cole is unsure what had been left unspoken in the pause. Zane isn't looking at him anymore, instead staring out over the skyline. There is something in his expression that says the conversation topic is still running inside his own mind.

He turns back to meet Cole's eyes before he speaks again.

"I spoke with him. After."

"Oh?" Cole isn't sure what to say to that. He wants to know, but his pride tells him that he should appear uninterested.

"He appeared ashamed. He didn't want to talk about his actions." Zane is looking a little thoughtful. "He asked about you though. Tried to make it look nonchalant, which it was not. He wanted to know if you had said anything, about him specifically. If you were upset with him."

He turns back to look Cole in the eyes. He speaks softly, but with intense conviction.

"I think he'll come back to you. He loves you too much not to, even if he knows your feelings for him are different in character. He doesn't want to lose you."

The words roll around in Cole's head. He tries to make sense of it in context of Jay avoiding him like the plague.

"He got a funny way of showing it." he finally can't help the bitterness in his voice.

Zane turns away again, staring out over the city.

"Time can change our perspective."

He doesn't elaborate and Cole doesn't ask him to.

* * *

They get back home just before nightfall. Zane is just picking up some stuff before heading back. Cole is looking forward to sliding into a hot shower.

When they open the front door they are immediately greeted with the sight of Lloyd, passing by in the hallway. His hair is sticking to his skin with sweat, looking like he just got back from the gym in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Hey. How'd it go?" he greets them.

"Good. All the cameras are in place. I'm just picking up some clothes and then I'm heading back. We are ready whenever they choose to strike." Zane shares, not without a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Lloyd nods, muttering  _ 'good, good' _ though his eyes flick around the room. He seems… A bit twitchy. Cole immediately starts to worry.

"So. How have you guys been while we were away?" he tries to ask about the tea without actually mentioning it directly. Lloyd clearly catches on - he turns and his eyes finally focus on Cole's face.

"We've been… Fine. But the results of our  _ studies _ have been mostly inconclusive." he speaks slowly, an overly concentrated frown taking over his face. Cole winces a little inwardly. He had forgotten what a bad liar he was.

"That sucks." he attempts to give Lloyd an end to the conversation, but instead of taking the offer the blonde keeps talking.

"It's unfortunate. It would almost seem our part in  _ certain affairs _ appears insignificant."

Then he winks to really get the point across.

"Why are you talking so strangely?" Zane raises an eyebrow in bewilderment, finally speaking up.

"We- I- I am not speaking strangely.  _ Your face _ is strange." Lloyd's face is starting to look a bit red now. He's painted himself into a corner and Cole can only watch as the car inevitably crashes.

"My face is crafted perfectly." Zane suspiciously narrows his eyes.

Lloyd swallows loudly. The room is starting to feel claustrophobic all of a sudden. Zane keeps staring. Lloyd keeps sweating, with the panicked eyes of a prey animal backed into a corner.

Then the tension is suddenly broken as the front door is slammed open and someone shoots past them all in truly impressive speed. Before the shock has left them enough processing time to react she's already down the hallway.

"N-Nya?" Kai can be heard exclaiming further down before the bathroom door is also slammed.

Kai rounds the corner a second later, meeting their stares with wide eyes of his own. He's also sweating and he's looking pale. He however is not wearing anything that he would ever wear to a gym.

"What is going on here?" Zane asks out loud. Kai, assuming he's talking about the woman that had just almost run them all down and not his own sickly image, tries his best to answer.

"Nya just returned early from patrol- She pushed me out of the way to the bathroom, the god damn brute. I don't know if she… If she…" He takes a shaky breath, eyes closing like he's trying to shut out the light. "Is anyone else feeling a little-" 

He is interrupted by his own stomach making a loud, rumbly sound. It's followed by belching-noises, and he's suddenly running for the upper floor bathroom. 

Cole blinks. He looks over at Zane and Lloyd. Zane is looking back at him. Lloyd is staring at the floor. He's looking green in the face.

"Oh. Oh no." Zane realizes. "You went back for more tea, didn't you?"

Lloyd doesn't answer, but he doesn't need to as his stomach too starts making violent noises.

Cole is suddenly  _ very _ glad he refused them as Lloyd runs off to the very old and dirty bathroom in the cellar. He's almost ready to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Then their bracelets start buzzing. Nya has finally extracted herself from the shift officially, leaving this shift down one person. Lately, they're supposed to have a back-up at all times in case something goes awry, what with the police targeting them.

"Why now?" Zane groans, massaging his temples. He turns to Cole with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't think we have much of an option. Cole, can you take over Nya's shift-"

"Yeah, s-" he is quick to answer.

"-with Jay?"

Cole stops mid-word. Zane raises one eyebrow at him.

"...He's the one not talking to me." Cole childishly tries to refuse the blame. He's absolutely  _ not _ pouting.

"Cole." Zane narrows his eyes in a distinctly 'I'm disappointed in you'-expression that cuts deeper than any anger could have.

'No way. It's still too raw. Who cares about our identities being exposed. _ You _ go patrol with Jay,' is what he wanna say.

"Sure," is what his mouth says, because his mouth is a coward with a praise kink.

"Good boy." Zane smiles and pats his back before running after Lloyd to check on the sicklies before leaving. 

Cole just sighs and turns around to go grab his suit.

* * *

Cole takes his normal route around town, keeping his eyes open. He still hasn't seen Jay by the time he reaches the part of town where Zane's apartment is located and he's starting to relax.

The gas mask is clumsily hidden under his face cover. It's a lot harder to keep it stuck to his face, but he guesses it's worth it if they come face to face with the burglar again.

He prays for this to be just another slow, boring night the likes of so many other nights lately. He does not want to meet up with Jay. But of course that's not what happens.

The signal comes as a tinny automated voice roughly five hours after he had dressed up and finally clicked  _ 'accept' _ on the shift. It's pitch black outside and almost eerily silent.

_ "Possible target is at W4. I repeat, target at W4." _ It's Zane's alarm system's text-to-voice function speaking right into his ear. Cole swears under his breath, immediately turning towards where he knows the flat is located. He skillfully jumps over a fence and scales the fire escape of a tall building, doing a flip on top of the next one. Since he was already close by it only takes him a minute to arrive on top of the neighbouring building and take in the scene playing out. 

Someone is sitting on the fire escape, fiddling with the window of Zane's apartment. It's too dark to tell what they look like, but Cole doesn't doubt it’s the right person. Even though they are protected by the unlit alleyway it'd be clear to anyone looking up that they are breaking in. Not even hiding it. He, on the other hand, is crammed behind a conveniently located protruding window, shadows working with his dark suit to blend him in with the roof tiles. The view of the scene is favourable from there but he won’t be able to stay seated for too long, unless he’s looking to fight with a leg cramp.

"Target spotted. Waiting for confirmation." He speaks into his own com. They just need proper video-evidence that she is in fact breaking in, and he can move in. His fingers tap nervously, arms a little sore but holding him steady. 

He can feel it when Jay arrives too. The hair on his arms suddenly stands up like the air is charged with electricity. That's... Not normal. A little seed of worry nestles into Cole’s chest, though he’s not sure what to do about it. Jay must be really stressed out to have such a loose control over his powers. It could be dangerous.

"Blue. Reel it in." he speaks into the com, voice clipped. Jay doesn't answer, but the electric presence disappears moments later and Cole sighs in relief.

Suddenly the thief disappears from view - Cole tenses up, every muscle in his body suddenly on high alert - she's inside Zane’s apartment. A thin trail of black smoke flows out from the window where she had entered.

A click and a second of white noise cracks in his ear.

"Target confirmed. Approaching."

His heart leaps, and he almost slips on the tile he's standing on. With the com in his ear, it had felt as if Jay had been right next to him. He shudders.

He spots Jay as he appears from the shadows a couple of houses away, without hesitation kicking off the roof and throwing himself at the right building. He misses the roof and Cole’s heart lodges in his throat for a second before Jay’s hands grab onto the decorative front on the building, showing no sign of what was probably the rather painful tug of gravity on his arms. He starts moving sideways, swinging his body until he finally gets his hand around the gutter pipe. Sliding down he reaches the fire escape, finally.

He throws a look over his shoulder, before he once again silently disappears into the shadows. He must know Cole is watching his every move after announcing himself. What had that look meant though? Stay? Come? He chooses to wait it out.

“ _ She is literally going through my stuff right in front of me and I have to pretend I’m sleeping. Though I acknowledge the logical appeal, I'm slowly coming to regret my part in this plan. _ ” The automated voice surprisingly starts talking again. It sounds nothing like Zane. It's rather humorous in its emotionless performance.

“ _ Wha- she just ate my chocolate bar. Now if you don’t catch her I will be so disappointed in you both. _ ”   
“Shut up.” Cole murmurs, trying to hold back a laugh. "Jay is waiting outside. He's ready as soon as you've got enough proof."

" _ Who is talking? Speaking is so last millennia." _

Then there's a sound of static followed by an automatic countdown.

" _ Initiating alarm sequence in three… two… one... _ "

The window lights up as all the lights inside go red. It looks awesome, like straight out of a spy-movie. Cole can't hear it from where he is, but he knows a loud sound is going off too. Their plan is to startle her enough to flee the scene like she did back last time.

Their plan works - in just seconds she's jumped through the window and onto the fire escape, ready to run. Instead she comes practically face-to-face with the blue ninja. She freezes, and they can proudly say they've caught her off guard. 

Jay is blocking the stairwells. She tries to get past but he easily blocks her attempt even as she kicks at him. She backs up again, but Jay can't follow her and leave the exit wide open. Cole doesn't know what she's thinking, back turned to him, but the next second she's grabbed something from the windowsill (a vase of flowers?) and thrown it at Jay's face.

He catches the vase but the water splashes all over him.

"H-hey!" Jay screams, wiping at his face. But in the few moments he was distracted she had already turned around and jumped over the fence, facing a five-story drop. Cole's heart lodges in his throat and he instinctively moves to save her, but it turns out his worry isn't necessary. Before he's reached the edge of the roof she has landed so gracefully on the pavement you'd think it had been a normal three-foot leap, and immediately taken off down the street.

"Oh no you don't-" Cole finally gives up his hiding spot to take up the chase. 

Taking a lesson from her book he jumps off the roof, using his powers and pulling a chunk of the ground upwards to create a gentle slope for him to slide down instead of a drop. His muscles spasm with the effort it takes to hold it steady and he has to bite his lip not to let go. The burglar stumbles as the ground underneath her rumbles and moves, but she doesn't stop in her stride. Luckily, he's moving faster on the slope with the extra help of gravity than she is, running horizontally.

As soon as he's back on more solid ground he pulls loose a large piece of stone from the pavement, big enough to knock her over but not seriously hurt her. She's only a couple of yards away. With a combination of skill and brute strength he throws it at her retreating back.

Instead of letting herself be hit she spins around, quick as a razor whip. She catches the boulder perfectly in one hand and he freezes. Fuck. Of course.  _ He's already seen this. _

The woman is dressed in a green bodysuit, perfectly fit to her body. The new mask, similarly a cartoon alien, is pulled up to cover her face. Compared to their clumsily covered gas masks hers still looks smooth and cute.

"Oh, what an honor to meet our city's great heroes." Her sarcastic voice is muffled but loud enough to make out. Cole grimaces.

"Wish I could say the pleasure is all mine, but I really can't."

She snorts.

He feels the tug in his fingertips moments before the rock is hurled back at him, and he rolls out of the way. The throwing power is not as strong as the catching, it seems. The rock is only thrown a couple of meters before it hits the ground and rolls another few. 

She then immediately goes for a punch while he's distracted, her fist going just past his face as he manages to move at the very last second. She immediately aims a kick at his side that he only awkwardly parries with his arm. It's not rookie moves.

He tries to use his other arm to throw a punch at her, but she catches his hand in her glove like she had been expecting that. The hand doesn't so much as shake with the force of his punch. Instead she grabs him, tugs him forward so he loses his footing and throws him in a wide arch over her back and into the closest building. 

He loses his breath with the impact, crashing against the thick stone walls with a  _ thump _ and falling onto the unforgiving asphalt beneath it. The punch is so disorienting he has to take a second to make sure he's still in one piece before getting back up. He thinks his head might be bleeding but he has no time to check.

"I think the gloves she's wearing is some sort of shock-absorbing tech," he speaks slowly into the com. His lungs hurt with every breath. Worst case scenario, he's broken a rib.

She's not running, rather she's observing him in a way that feels more like ridiculing.

"It wouldn't surprise me if her entire suit is made the same way." The com in his own ear clicks to life with Jay's voice. "It would explain why none of our hits seems to phase her and how she managed to jump down from that building."

As if making a point Jay finally drops down on the street a couple of meters behind her. Her shoulders go rigid, clearly aware of the second opponent that had appeared but not wanting to take her eyes off the first.

Jay and Cole both charge at the same time and create an accidentally synchronized attack, Jay kicking the back of her knee as Cole punches her in the shoulder. Despite both of them hitting their mark she doesn't so much as stumble before she throws out her own punch, hitting Cole straight in the jaw and barely missing Jay with her kick.

"Urgh!" He groans, falling back just enough to be out of reach as Jay takes over. That hurt, damn it! He's probably gonna have a bruise tomorrow.

"Wait. If they're really tech, maybe you could fry their circuits?"

He jumps in and tries to outpace her hits, allowing Jay to step back and answer.

"I don't know, I mean, electricity isn't really… The suit probably has some kind of protective layer so she won't get electrocuted if it malfunctions, but if I send in a surge and there's nowhere else for the electricity to go I can't promise it won't burn her. Badly." He pants.

She suddenly leans back, Cole's fist going clear over her as he falls forward with the force of his own punch. He hits the pavement face-first and he even hears a mocking chuckle behind him this time.

"Great, we'll get sued for permanently disfiguring the bad guy. As if we need yet another reason for people to dislike us." He mutters.

She has turned around and started running this time. Jay is close on her trail.

"If only I could get close enough to grab her I could reroute the charge back to me before it did serious damage." He says in between gasps of breath. Cole's eyebrows rise. 

"What would make it work?"

She manages to get a punch in on Jay, and he almost flips over with the force of it. He's starting to look winded. Cole is likely worse off.

"Well when you put it like that…" He groans. "If she could just  _ be still _ , it'd be a great start."

"I gotcha."

He feels for the tingling in his fingertips. The asphalt cracks, and the burglar cautiously jumps out of the way as dirt and rocks press through. Even without seeing her facial expression he can tell she's pissed. Good.

Using the asphalt splinters as dark arrows he attacks her, though she easily swats them away.

Annoyed and having bought that he cracked the road to get the asphalt, she starts charging at him. She doesn't get far before she steps right into his trap - the now open ground with no hard asphalt or stone to cover it swallows up her foot all the way up to her knee. She is stuck.

Furiously she tugs at her leg, and he has to physically hold on so that his control over the earth doesn't break. Jay tries to attack her now but she still skillfully avoids his attack and pushes him away like she's swatting at a mosquito. It'd look humorous in any other situation. 

She won't let Jay get his hands on her long enough to use his powers. Cole can't do much else to help, busy just holding her down.

Then he spots it right by his left foot.

A manhole. It's a risk, but he's not in the business for second-guessing right now. He lets his attention be pulled away for just a moment as he pulls the cover off the ground and throws it like a disc. It's heavy, thick metal. The kind that could do great damage if hoisted at high speed. The kind you can't just ignore.

She catches it easily in one hand, already halfway out of the trap.

"Blue, now!"

Before she can react an electric current rushes through her. Her body starts to spasm violently, but he presses on. Finally the actual gloves start beeping before something inside them all but explode in a puff of dark smoke. The green suit starts to retract like a puzzle, unlaying itself.

Jay jumps forward, grabbing the manhole cover with both hands and seemingly pulling back the energy he had just released until her cramping hand goes slack. 

Cole finally lets go of the trap around her legs and she falls over. She seems to be unconscious.

He quickly presses a finger against her throat, feeling for a pulse. He relaxes again once he's greeted with a steady beat.

"She's knocked out but otherwise fine," he says out loud for Jay to hear before continuing more jokingly. " _ Welp _ , I know how that feels." He mumbles to himself as he stands back up, smiling dumbly at his own joke. Jay grimaces, eyes darting to the side in embarrassment.

"I said sorry…" he mutters. Cole just snorts.

With a knee propping her up he binds her arms behind her back with a zip tie. Then he puts another one just above her elbows, and a third one around her legs for good measure. He was too tired to risk anything.

Jay carries the manhole cover back to where it belonged and seemingly struggles somewhat with the weight.

Cole tries to use the time to put the street back the way it was as well as he can. It turns out a little bumpier, aesthetically a bit rough and cracked. He winces a little at the sight, hoping it would be fixed quickly before a real pothole developed.

The sound of a motorbike rapidly approaching makes him tense up, until he looks over at Jay and finds him nodding back. It's Jay's blue bike that rounds the corner - self-driving get away-technology that it is. 

Jay swings his leg over and straddles the seat as Cole pulls the burglar upright, carrying her over and sitting down behind Jay while holding her between their bodies.

Jay throws one last, long look at Cole behind him before he activates the machine.

They're off long before anyone else arrives at the scene.

* * *

They stop at a secluded lot close to the harbour. Jay shuts down the engine while Cole once again lifts the body of the burglar off the bike.

To his great surprise, she's already awake. Maybe she had hoped to memorize the way to their hang-out if she stayed silent. Well, tough luck, they're not so stupid as to take her anywhere important without at least making sure she's blindfolded.

Speaking of covering her face though-

"Time to get rid of the mask, or what do you say?"

She doesn't answer, neither does she fight them as they unclasp the plastic buckles holding it in place.

Blonde hair starts spilling out like a halo and Cole can't help his shocked exclamation.

" Skye Walker?!"

The woman just smirks, tugging forcefully at her restraints in a display of rebellion.

"But you're with the police! You don't need the money! Why the hell would you steal from- from college kids!" Jay sounds just as shocked as Cole.

She sighs like she is dealing with a child, though she is the one tied up.

“Isn’t it obvious?" She snaps her head to meet Cole's gaze head-on. "To make you look bad.”

“Me?” Cole takes a surprised step back. She glares, if possible, even harder.

“Not  _ you  _ singular, you moron. The Ninjas.” She growls, once again ripping at the restraints.

"Why would you do that?" Jay pipes up in that high pitch he sometimes gets when he's angry. She only seems to take pleasure in this.

"Because it's  _ funny _ ."

"It's not funny for all the people you robbed!" Jay disagrees.

"Geez, you're such a spoil-sport." She rolls her eyes, but a smile is still on her lips. "Who cares! It's just a little money!"

"Ju- For you maybe! For them it might be the difference of whether they have food to eat or not!"

"That's pathetic."

Jay is starting to look straight up murderous. Cole would hold him back if he wasn't busy already holding onto the bad guy. He is reminded of how something had seemed wrong with Jay when he arrived earlier.

"She's trying to get a rise out of you." he says instead, trying to calm him down.

"Well, it's working!" Jay just glares. “And I guess it's just  _ coincidence _ that Jake Richman happened to do his major dickwipe campaign against us at the same time."

It's just a flippant comment spoken in a moment of anger, not even aimed at her, but suddenly the woman's nonchalant attitude is gone, and she hisses.

Jay even flinches instinctively at the animalistic sound.

“How  _ dare _ you-” Cole has to hold her back with his entire weight to avoid her throwing herself at Jay, scratching and spitting. She still tries to kick at him. “Jake is the most intelligent person alive! He's the greatest gift to this generation, the most gorgeous man, just being in his presence is an honor you don't deserve! He's the love of my life!”

_ Wait _ . Cole freezes.  _ That sounds all too familiar. _

He grabs her head, tilting it upwards not all too gently to expose her neck. She isn't wearing any sort of gasmask. She never was.

"Uhm, Black? What are you doing?"

He doesn't answer, instead he keeps on carefully examining her exposed skin. It's not long until he finds exactly what he’s looking for, just above the top of her neckline.

He excitedly points at the red mark standing out on her exposed neck. It looks vaguely heart-shaped.

"See that?  _ That _ looks just like a lovebug-bite."

Jay's eyes widen with realization.

"He hasn't just been taking the honey… He's been taking bees!" he gasps.

Skye tugs at Cole's grip and he lets her go without a fight this time, satisfied with what he's found.

"What are you talking about?" She is doing her best to still look tough, but cracks in her facade show she's rattled now that they know something she doesn't.

"Jake Richman has been manipulating you into thinking you're in love using a special drug from Namon Island. The same one you’re using to drug the people you rob.” Cole explains calmly as the pieces all come together in his own mind.

"He- He wouldn't do that! Not to me." The words are shaky. There is doubt in her eyes. The itching knowledge that something didn't add up that she had been pushing down.   
“Then how can you go through the smoke without a mask yet be unaffected?”   
“Because I was given antidote-”

"There is no antidote. The only antibodies that work on it are those from the bug-toxin." He isn't sure that is the whole truth, but he takes a chance.

She is silent. Staring at the floor in front of her, trembling with emotion. She's trying to stay angry, but the mask is breaking and fear is breaking through.

"How long have you even loved him? Did these feelings not appear awfully sudden? Felt as if they were sent to you from some higher power to guide you?" Jay continues. Cole stares at him. Is that what he had felt like?

Her eyes go wide with fear. Fear that their accusations make a certain sense. Fear that her reality is falling apart.

"Guess why that is? Because the feelings are artificial. Created to keep you locked to someone else and away from the thing you really wanted."

Jay brings up the article Nya had found on the holoscreen of his watch, bringing it close enough to Skye's face that she has to see it.

"Which was to  _ take down _ JaRi Industries, not help them."

A flicker of recognition sparks in her eye, her mouth falling open in silent realization.

"Holy shit," Cole breathes out.

"You were getting close, weren't you? So he decided he had to stop you."

She doesn't answer, but that silence is enough. Her eyes are wide open but unseeing. Her mind is visibly racing.

Behind her, Jay extends his hand for a high five, and Cole takes it.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" She sounds different now. Apathetic rather than arrogant.

"Sorry for the rough treatment, we're gonna have to make sure you stick it out and aren't infected again. Then you can decide on your own what the truth is."

She doesn't ask anything else, just silently accepts the blindfold.

They take her to the temple. Taking her back to their own home would be too risky, and in the temple Wu can tend to her and make sure she doesn't escape without compromising anyone's identity (according to the official records he was long dead, after all). She doesn't make a fuss. Just lies down on her new temporary bed and sleeps without saying a word. If she recognizes Wu as the light ninja she doesn't say so.

He is a little grumpy over being handled the job of glorified babysitter, but he also pats both of them on the back and tells them he's proud of them.

* * *

They don't really talk on their way back. Cole sits behind Jay, holding onto him as they speed downtown. Their thighs are pressed together and somehow he feels every movement in the muscle of Jay's legs more vividly than he feels the wind, lapping at his cheeks. 

Jay lets Cole get off closer to home, knowing he still needs to take the vehicle across town and look it over before returning for the night. Jay is the only one that does maintenance every single time he's used his bike. Cole isn't sure why, but he believes it's born more from Jay's need to wind down than necessity. Still, he wishes him good luck. He's pretty sure he gets a smile in response before Jay leaves him standing on the street corner.

People are starting to wake up around town. He can hear the sounds of tvs, radio and cars as he swiftly moves down the dark alleyways he knows so well by now. He finds his clothes where he had left them. Someone is making coffee in the house next to him as he changes. The wound on his head stopped bleeding a while ago, but he still wipes around it as well as he can to clean up. It's weird, but this feels almost routine for him. How strange is it to imagine people like Skye Walker, the people who are just waking up as he travels homeward. So many people whose paths will never merge with his unless something bad happens to them.

Despite being tired he doesn't feel like sleeping after getting home. It's still too early to really  _ be awake _ , so he sinks down into the living room couch and starts some random late-night show. It works pretty well. He can feel himself getting sleepier.

While he's watching, a stray thought crosses his mind and refuses to leave.

He picks up a pen and a sticky note from the kitchen. It's small, and he hopes the bright color is enough to make sure it's visible though his writing is small. At last he presses it on the door furthest down the hallway, only making sure it sticks before turning around and leaving. If he gives himself more time to think about it he will surely start having doubts.

He finally crashes into bed.

* * *

Cole sleeps for hours and hours. When he finally wakes up the sun has already set and the night sky is dark once again. The house is for once quiet. The bathroom is unoccupied too which he takes as a good sign. At least his friends slash family had made it to bed.

He enters the kitchen and to his surprise he finds Kai awake, wrapped in a blanket and pale faced - but  _ better _ \- as he's slowly chewing cereal. When he notices the newcomer he smiles despite it all.

"Hey dude, good news!" he says and shoves his phone under Cole's nose.

It's a headline for a newspaper.

_ SEN. RICHMAN ARRESTED IN NC. The head chief of NCPD confirmed that Jake Richman has been arrested on suspicion for the numerous burglaries and nonconsensual drugging of citizens that have been reported lately, as well as illegally importing endangered animals. Richman recently took to twitter to condemn NCs own superheroes the Ninjas, which now have caused a massive discussion of whether or not there were ulterior motives.  _

"Superheroes, huh? I like the sound of that better." Cole smiles, chuckling a little. Kai sighs dreamily while picking at his food.

One thing doesn't make sense though. It's been less than a day since they caught Skye Walker, unless he's been sleeping for far longer than he thought. 

"What happened to Skye?" he asks.

"She arranged for the arrest."

"Seriously?" Cole blinks. "But she's still infected, isn't she?" Kai just shrugs, making an "i dunno"-sound.

"Whatever you said to her must have made an impression." he concludes with a mouth full of food. Cole nods slowly, reaching for his own bowl.

"...And the weapons they were developing?"

"Well, it didn't say anything about that. But without JaRi, what could they do?"

"So it's a problem for another day?"

"Problem for another day." Kai nods.

Their knuckles meet in a majestic bro-fist.

* * *

It feels almost like an anticlimax after spending so much time on this case how swiftly and easily everything comes together. The media and politicians seem to be on their side again, but he won't easily forget how quickly they had turned on them. What they did would never have the approval of everyone. Some people would only see the destruction and harm, not all that they protected. Many would like to see them behind bars and do all they could to make it so. If they were going to keep doing this they had to grow thick skin.

Turning the corner on his way back to bed, he almost smacks right into another body coming from the opposite direction. They both stumble back in surprise, taking in the sight of the other.

"Oh. Hey." Jay blinks up at him. He looks nervous, but not like he's going to run away so that's an improvement. "Did you hear about the arrest?"

"Kai just told me. We did pretty well, huh."

"We make quite the team, don't we?"

Jay smiles, a touch too genuine and Cole is the one that has to look away this time. It's not Jay's fault, but he can't help it. After everything that had happened, the casual way he would smile just felt like a painful reminder. 

Out of the corner of his eye he sees how Jay's smile falls off his face. For a second they're both standing awkwardly silent, before Jay speaks up again. This time he sounds like he's made up of something fragile.

"Cole, can I- About that note, uh." he reaches out to touch Cole's arm, but thinks better of it and snatches the hand back towards his chest.

"I almost convinced myself I had dreamed that up," Cole mutters. His heart had plummeted with Jay's movement and now felt like a leaden, sticky lump in his stomach.

"Ah. No. Sorry." Jay makes a face that was probably meant to be a smile but had none of the genuine emotion from before, fiddling with the string on his hoodie. "Uhm… You were right. In the note, I mean. You mean much to me too and I don't want this to get between us. We should talk."

"Yeah." Cole's eyes do a quick scan around the hallway they're in, then he reaches out and pulls the other man with him into the closest room ensuring them some privacy. It's just used as a storage space normally, but it works well enough. Jay's eyes widen in surprise but he protests neither the touch nor the manhandling, just obediently follows. Cole doesn't pay it any mind. He's had enough of getting carried away by his own hope. As soon as the door closes behind them he sighs. He steels himself and turns around.

"Look Jay, I am sorry for everything that happened. I hope we can just put it behind us. I want us to be friends again."

He is hoping for agreement when he meets Jay's eyes again, but the other man just looks conflicted. He's staring intently at Cole like there's something troublesome he's trying to figure out. He never expected the next words out of Jay's mouth;

"When you figured out the big lead in the case, you were looking at ads for apartments."

Cole flinches, and he crosses his arms protectively in front of himself, realizing he had been found out. Jay seems to notice it too, eyebrows furrowing deeper. "You weren't like… thinking of moving out, were you?"

He doesn't answer - don't know what to say, really - but his silence seems to be enough for Jay.

"Oh." It's so soft it's almost soundless.

Jay's face falls, lip starting to wobble and with a surge of icy terror Cole recognizes what is about to happen just before it does. The scene that has been burned into his retinas since he tasted the tea.

He doesn't realize he's been backing away until Jay reaches out for him, grabbing a hold of his arm this time to stop him.

"Cole, wait. I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to-" He has to take a deep breath, and a tear breaks free from his eyelashes. Once the dam is broken more follows, and Jay tries to frantically wipe them away to no success. "I never meant to hurt you. You said no  _ so _ many times and I just kept trying. I felt so certain I was r-right about us and I just had to convince you. I've been a shitty friend." He speaks, interrupted by sobs. He's such a messy crier.

Cole is just exhausted.

"It's fine Jay, you were under the influence of the bug. I'm not blaming you for what happened." If anyone had messed up, it was him. He had let his feelings cloud his judgment.

"Was I?" Jay objects. He got one hand ripping at his hair and the other gesturing wildly in time with his words. "Sure I felt really strongly about you, but I didn't have to force myself onto you. I didn't  _ have _ to try to convince you. I did that because I wanted to! Some of the things I said- A-and now you- You feel like you have to  _ leave _ ."

Cole sighs, looking away. Pretending that Jay's panicked expression isn't already permanently burned onto his mind.

"Jay, that's not your fault. You said it yourself - the feelings were artificial. Look what they did to Skye - what they could do to any of us. It wasn't  _ you _ . Stuff like that mess with your perception."

"No!" Jay grabs Cole's hand, and Cole's heart, which never seems to be able to catch a hint no matter how clear, makes an excited - bittersweet - leap. His eyes snap up to meet Jay's red-rimmed stare. He's holding onto Cole’s hand firmly but his hands are shaking with the force of his sobs. "Our situation was different! They were enemies, not-  _ Not us _ ! Cole, you are one of the best things that ever happened to me. I've never felt so comfortable with someone else before and I don't want to  _ lose _ you." 

Cole leans back against the wall. He rubs at his eyes with the hand Jay isn’t holding onto, but the sting is still there when he finishes. He’s tired. He's gotten his hope up just to have the rug pulled out from under his feet one too many times, and he doesn't want to do it anymore. He wishes this conversation would just be over and everything could go back to normal.

"I feel that way too. But there's more to being in love with someone than that, Jay. There's - you know -  _ feelings,  _ and physical attraction and stuff."

"I  _ know _ ." Jay makes a frustrated, whiny noise like Cole isn't listening to what he's saying. "I felt all of it, and now I don't know how to stop."

That does catch Cole's attention. It takes him a moment to process what had just been said, but when he does his hand drops from his face and he turns to stare at Jay.

"W-what?"

"Do you know how hard it is to  _ not _ push you up against the wall and kiss you like, all the time? Cause I do! Have you seen yourself after a workout? It's not enough to call you a snack, you're a goddamn full course meal. I had all of that at my fingertips and then  _ bam  _ I had to give it away without a moment's notice! Now every second I feel like I'm starving!"

"I… I'm not sure I understand?"

_ Is it kind of hot in here? Why hasn't anyone opened any windows? They really should open a window.  _ Cole is finding it a little hard to breathe.

Jay puts his hands in front of his face in frustration, making a sound that's neither fully a scream nor a whine.

"I really like you, okay! A lot! Like wow, I try to convince myself to stop but I don't know how to think about something else because you make me so  _ happy _ and I want to make you happy too, so desperately it's making me crazy!"

Cole might be on the verge of passing out. He's not entirely sure he isn't dreaming already. Could this really be happening?

"You're like… Attracted to me? Even without the bug bite?"

Jay's hands fall and he looks at Cole like he had just insulted him to his face.

"Attr- Dude I have always been attracted to you. I would  _ ravish _ you."

Cole is lost for words. He's just staring, mouth hanging open like a fish.

"Well now it would just be embarrassing!" He squeaks (in a manly way).

Jay takes a step back, looking ashamed. It takes Cole a second to recognize he must have taken his embarrassment as a rejection. He groans and rubs his eyes again. It still feels unreal. The bubbles under his skin are back, popping like a carbonated drink and tickling his insides. He realizes he wants to smile, so he does. A bubbly, nervous laugh makes its way out of his mouth. Jay startles at the sound, looking confused over all the conflicting signals.

"Can I kiss you?" Cole asks breathlessly.

It's Jay's turn to look shocked.

"Do you  _ want _ to kiss me?"

"Yes. More than anything." (Maybe not more than unlimited cake, but it's pretty close. He doesn't say that.)

"Okay- I mean, yes. Yes you may."

Jay subconsciously takes a step closer, effectively caging him in against the wall with his body. Despite their obvious difference in stature, and Cole snort-laughs a little at the surely silly scene they're setting, he kinda likes it. Somehow Jay can make him feel small and vulnerable in a way he very rarely is.

He tilts his head so they are just inches apart, their breaths mingling. Jay's breaths are hitching nervously but Cole feels a lot calmer than he ever thought he would.

Jay's lips on his are not like exploring something new. It's like coming home.

It starts out slowly, carefully, but it evolves into something faster and sloppier. It feels as if a light has been lit inside his chest and it's burning brighter and warmer and is slowly engulfing him.

Cole is truly, utterly in love.

When they part it's just enough for Jay to get the words out against his lips.

"Please tell me this means what I think it means, because if not I might just scream."

The side of Cole's lip twitches.

"I like you, so so much." To make it final he presses one last, chaste kiss against his lips. Jay seems to visibly relax, sighing in relief.

He sinks down comically, no longer on his tippy toes. He smiles again, but then the light in his eyes dims slightly and he leans his head against the crook of Cole's neck like he's afraid of seeing an unwanted truth.

"And you're not moving out, right?" he whispers, just loud enough for the two of them. Cole shakes his head.

"I wasn't going to. I just needed- I just looked at the options. I wanted the idea of escape. I would never leave."

"Oh thank god."

Jay hugs him.

He feels a little crazy. Like this can't possibly be happening for real and he must have imagined everything in the last ten or so minutes. Things don't work out this well. Real-life doesn't have storybook endings. He can't be this lucky.

But he is.

* * *

  
  


They don't need to tell anyone. Kai barges into Cole's room at 5.30 am, yelling about Jay being gone until he notices there's not only one but two people throwing him stink eyes from the bed.

When they actually get out of bed it's obvious by the part-excited, part-relieved looks they keep getting that the rest of their friends have been informed of exactly what Kai had seen.

No one even speaks. Nya just holds her phone up for Cole to see as he slides down in the seat next to her, already reaching for the box of cereal.

It's a twitter-account, one which he after a moment recognizes as Kai's fake fan account. The latest post is from six minutes ago.

" _ Theory: Black is the little spoon." _

"Oh come on!"


End file.
